Land Grabbing in Heyran Pass: Case of the District Governor Sent to Court

One month after accusations between representatives of Astara and Ardabil in the parliament regarding land grabbing in Heyran Pass, the head of the National Land Affairs Organization announced 300 cases of "unauthorized" construction in this village and stated that the case of the district governor of this area has been sent to court. The land grabbing case in Heyran Pass arose after Safar Naeimi Raz, the representative of Astara, and Kamaluddin Pir-Moazzen, the representative of Ardabil in parliament, accused each other of land grabbing in this area. According to Tasnim News Agency, Qobad Afshar, the head of the National Land Affairs Organization, on Saturday, September 7, provided details about 100 cases of "unauthorized" construction, stating that the case of another 200 cases of "unauthorized" construction is under review. He noted that the area designated for the "Rural Hadi Plan" in the village of Heyran is "five times more" than the required amount, adding: "The need for this village for the implementation of the Hadi plan and the construction of housing and public services has been declared as 30 hectares, but 130 hectares more than this amount has been constructed." According to Mr. Afshar, out of the 30 hectares for changing the use of agricultural land, only eight hectares have been allocated to residential space, but the village chief and the district governor have issued permits for an additional 160 hectares without regard to all these matters. In the "Rural Hadi Plans," the limits and usage of village lands for residential, productive, commercial, and agricultural purposes are determined. Mr. Afshar referred to 50 cases of "unauthorized" construction in this village, calling the village chief a "violator," stating that he issued construction permits on agricultural lands contrary to the approved plan. The head of the National Land Affairs Organization also mentioned that another 50 cases of "unauthorized" construction have occurred outside the limits of the "Rural Hadi Plan," for which the district governor has issued permits for 20 of them. According to Mr. Afshar, the National Land Affairs Organization has simultaneously formed cases against the district governor and the violators and sent them to court. The land grabbing case in Heyran Pass arose after Safar Naeimi Raz, the representative of Astara, accused Kamaluddin Pir-Moazzen, the representative of Ardabil, of being involved in land grabbing in Heyran Pass during a television program on Thursday, August 22. Following this, Mr. Pir-Moazzen denied the accusation and announced that he had submitted the names of 65 land grabbers, including "close relatives" of the representative of Astara, to the presidency. "Heyran" is the name of a summer village in the Astara County located in Gilan Province, situated 30 kilometers from Astara. Heyran consists of three villages: Heyran Sofla, Heyran Vostai, and Heyran Aliya, and its pass is one of the main tourist attractions of this village, located on the communication route between Astara and Ardabil. In his remarks on Saturday, the head of the National Land Affairs Organization also referred to another 200 cases of "unauthorized" construction in Heyran Pass, stating that a group from this organization has been "deployed" in the area to "align them." According to Mr. Afshar, if these constructions are outside the "Rural Hadi Plan," their cases will be sent to court, but if they are within the Hadi plan, they will be referred to the "Article 99 Commission." The Article 99 Commission of the Municipalities Law is a commission formed by representatives from the Ministry of Interior, the Judiciary, and the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, which decides on the demolition or fines for unauthorized constructions.