4.8 million square meters of land in 27 provinces across Turkey are no longer forest

With decision number 10972, signed by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, 4 million 776 thousand 927 square meters of forest land in 27 provinces of Turkey have been removed from forest status. The decision sparked significant controversy after being published in the Official Gazette. Among the provinces where areas had their forest status revoked are many major cities, including Adana, Antalya, Muğla, İzmir, and Trabzon.

LARGEST AREA IN ANTALYA

Under the scope of the decision, Antalya was the province where the largest forest area was removed from forest status. In the Korkuteli district of Antalya, 2.8 million square meters of land were removed from forest status. Antalya was followed by the provinces of Muğla, Bingöl, and Kütahya, respectively. While the total area in these four provinces reached 3.7 million square meters, a total of 4.8 million square meters of forest were removed from status when combined with the areas in the remaining 23 provinces. This amount is equivalent to approximately 670 football fields.

DETAILS OF THE DECISION

According to reports by Sevim Saylam from Evrensel, the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change announced that an area at least twice the size of the land removed from forest status would be allocated to the General Directorate of Forestry. It was stated that these areas would be used "to establish forests."

PUBLIC LANDS SOLD IN FOUR PROVINCES

Publicly held properties were put up for tender to be sold to private companies. The Privatization Administration held tenders for properties in Ankara, Bursa, Iğdır, and Istanbul. In these tenders, public lands were offered for sale with high expectations of rent.

A 3,778-square-meter plot in Çankaya, Ankara, was sold for 208 million TL to SRL İnşaat, owned by Serhat Sarıalioğlu.

A 43,060-square-meter plot and the structures on it in Yenişehir, Bursa, were auctioned off for 334 million TL to İtimat Peynircilik Süt ve Süt Ürünleri AŞ.

An 8,763-square-meter property in Baharlı, Iğdır, was sold to Himpaş İnşaat for 53.3 million TL.

A 1,351-square-meter plot in Samandıra, Istanbul, was awarded to Koyuncu Elektronik for 44.25 million TL.

News Source: 12punto