Drone Surveillance Uncovers Rampant Illegal Construction in Casablanca Outskirts

The drones of the Urban Agency that regularly fly over the municipalities and provinces of the Casablanca-Settat region to detect anarchic constructions and sanction offenders of urban planning rules have not been able to census the warehouses with synthetic grass, built along the Merchich road, the Médiouna road and the Sidi Brahim road, with the complicity of the local authorities, according to sources at Hespress.

In the municipality of Sidi Hajjaj Ouled Hssar under the province of Médiouna, the drones failed to detect warehouses hidden inside stables located on agricultural land. The same is true in the provinces of Berrechid and Nouaceur on the outskirts of Casablanca, where the drones could not detect the heightenings, extensions and constructions of new buildings, including housing and warehouses for the storage of goods and the exercise of illegal industrial activities.

In recent weeks, drones have been flying over several peripheral areas of Casablanca as part of surveillance, control and monitoring operations of urban development, as well as the collection of updated data to be used for the preparation and adjustment of master development plans. The same sources specified that a municipal president under the province of Médiouna threatened to shoot down a drone if it flew over the presumed illegal hangars again.

On the other hand, the drones have recorded urban planning offenses that have not been recorded in the official reports of observation and reporting of urban planning offenses, drawn up by the local authorities (caïds and pachas). The authorities of the Casablanca-Settat region have requested to intensify the fight against anarchic constructions and to proceed with the demolition of buildings that do not comply with urban planning rules, and to continue the rehousing of slum dwellers and dilapidated buildings.