Investigation Launched into Illegal Construction Boom in Berrechid, Morocco

To hold each elected official accountable, the local authorities of Berrechid province have used aerial photographs to detect the places where anarchic constructions have spread in the Had Soualem area. The coronavirus pandemic and the lockdown imposed as an essential measure have helped the multiplication of these constructions, reports the daily Al Akhbar.

As the local authorities were focused on managing the pandemic, the terrain had become favorable for this type of initiative, which should have received the approval of the structure in charge of urban planning. According to the governor, the constructions in question represent serious violations of urban planning rules, in the sense that they have many irregularities such as roofs covered with metal sheets or reinforced concrete, thus endangering the inhabitants.

The technical commission set up has visited all the affected douars to assess the seriousness of the situation. Even in the large agglomerations, the same phenomenon has spread with constructions that go beyond two floors, in disregard of urban planning standards.

As soon as the investigation commission began to crisscross the douars, some well-seasoned caids involved in this proliferation of anarchic constructions are trying to clear themselves. According to the daily, a caid even tried to put everything on the back of an auxiliary of the authority by bringing him, as a scapegoat, before the disciplinary council. But his connections with a notable of this locality, who for electoral purposes, contributed to the multiplication of anarchic houses, are known to all, the newspaper affirms.