He had joined the AKP: Nuri Aslan responds to Eren Ali Bingöl's claims

Tuzla Mayor Eren Ali Bingöl's joining of the AKP has brought the debate over zoning rights transfers back to the agenda, and a statement has now come from the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (İBB) side. İBB Deputy Mayor Nuri Aslan shared findings from an Inspection Board report, stating that numerous irregularities were found in the transfer of zoning rights in Tuzla.

In a statement made one day before joining the AKP, Bingöl had said, "We are facing the risk of 50,000 of our Tuzla neighbors' homes being demolished. And unfortunately, we are experiencing a major disagreement with the İBB on this matter. I have spent a great effort for two years to prevent the issue from reaching this point."

While discussions regarding zoning and floor area ratio (FAR) transfers in Tuzla have returned to the agenda following Bingöl's move to the AKP, İBB Deputy Mayor Nuri Aslan also made assessments on the subject.

'ONE ZONING RIGHT TRANSFERRED TO 185 PARCELS'

Aslan stated that the Inspection Board examinations revealed findings that the same zoning right had been used more than once.

"It has been determined that a zoning right, which could normally be used only once, was transferred to 185 different parcels in a single instance," said Aslan, adding that these practices were recorded in the report.

"ARE WE GOING TO TURN A BLIND EYE TO THIS?"

Reacting to the allegations of irregularity, Aslan said, "So, you used something that you should have used once, 185 times. What does this mean? Are we going to turn a blind eye to this? What does this mean? Are we not going to protect the public's property, the public's assets, and their rights?"

1,025 FILES EXAMINED, 669 DUPLICATE USES DETECTED

According to the information provided by Aslan, the İBB Inspection Board examined files belonging to 1,025 recipient parcels. The examinations determined that 182 donor parcels or shares and 427 parcel owners were involved in the transactions.

According to the report, missing or non-compliant documents were found in 884 of the 1,025 parcels examined. Additionally, a total of 669 duplicate uses of zoning rights were detected.

ALLEGATIONS OF SAME INDIVIDUALS AND SAME NOTARY IN TRANSACTIONS

Aslan said that the report also included findings that some transactions were carried out by the same three individuals and through the same notary.

Stating that transactions in a significant portion of the files were conducted with notary-certified consent forms, Aslan expressed that some documents lacked basic information regarding which zoning right was used to what extent and to which parcel it was transferred.

Aslan said that for this reason, zoning rights could not be tracked effectively, and that a transparent system to ensure equal auditing of practices had not been established.

"IT IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR THE İBB TO REMAIN SILENT"

Stating that the report evaluates that approximately 520,000 square meters of additional construction rights were created through legally questionable transactions, Aslan said that in some files, the transferable zoning rights were also calculated incorrectly.

Stating that the real estate and shares that should have been transferred to the public were not sufficiently verified, Aslan expressed that some canceled municipal council decisions were not reflected in practice, and that the zoning rights used in licensing and project processes were not clearly recorded.

Aslan said, "It is impossible for the İBB to remain silent when there are such serious findings, when deficiencies have been identified in hundreds of files, and when findings have been presented regarding the repeated use of the same zoning right."

'ZONING AMNESTY IS POSSIBLE WITH TBMM REGULATION'

Stating that he had met with Tuzla Mayor Eren Ali Bingöl many times to resolve the zoning issue, Aslan explained that meetings were also held with the participation of representatives from the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change and relevant institutions.

Stating that it was concluded in these meetings that a zoning amnesty to eliminate irregular transactions through a decision by the İBB Assembly was not possible, Aslan said that such a regulation could only be realized through a law enacted by the TBMM.

Aslan stated that as a solution proposal, they brought up the idea of converting the additional zoning gain obtained as a result of unlawful transactions into public benefit.

Accordingly, he expressed that it was proposed to leave the real estate corresponding to the excess zoning rights to the public, to cover the expropriation cost, or to create parks, green spaces, and social facility areas to be offered for the use of Tuzla residents.

Aslan said that the problem could be solved if those who gained unfair profit donated the facility areas or the expropriation cost corresponding to the 520,000 square meters of excess zoning transfer to the Tuzla Municipality.

Stating that Bingöl was also present at these meetings, Aslan made the following statements:

"In all the meetings held, the same truth was expressed to us. Whoever we talked to, whoever we consulted with, the same thing was said. It is not possible for the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Assembly to bring a zoning amnesty that would eliminate these irregularities with a decision it takes. Such a regulation could only be possible with a legal regulation to be enacted by the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. So what was the solution then? The solution was to compensate for the zoning rights that were used repeatedly in an unlawful manner for the public benefit. In other words, it was to gain the additional profit arising from these irregular transactions for the public as land, to cover it as an expropriation cost, or to transform it into parks, green spaces, and social facility areas that our Tuzla neighbors would use. In other words, the problem would have been solved if the facility area or expropriation cost corresponding to the area subject to the 520,000 square meters of excess zoning transfer had been donated to the Tuzla Municipality by those who obtained unfair profit. The Tuzla Mayor was also present at all these meetings. In other words, he himself is a witness to everything that was discussed, the proposed solutions, and the limits of the law. Despite this, this solution could not be implemented, it was not wanted to be implemented. We, on the other hand, never wanted the process to remain unresolved. On the contrary, the relevant bodies of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Assembly, our bureaucrats, and the ministry bureaucracy worked on this issue many times. We worked and fought to implement legal paths where both our citizens would not be victimized and public rights would be protected."

REPORT FORWARDED TO MINISTRIES

Aslan stated that the zoning change proposal regarding the 1,025 parcels from the Tuzla Municipality was referred to the İBB Assembly, and the same file was sent to the İBB Inspection Board to investigate the allegations.

Stating that the prepared report was forwarded to the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change, the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Justice, the Tuzla Municipality, and relevant institutions on June 12, 2024, Aslan stated that the subsequent process is under the responsibility of the relevant ministries.

Aslan said, "Therefore, today, let no one try to explain this process with rhetoric such as 'The Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality is blocking it, a political decision is being made, investments are being cut off'."

Stating that the debate is a legal issue, not a political one, Aslan said, "Because the issue is not an investment issue. Because the issue is not a political issue either. The work we do is to protect the rights of the public and the nation. The issue is the law, the issue is justice, the issue is public interest."

"IF THE LAW IS ENACTED, WE WILL IMPLEMENT IT"

Stating that the authority to make regulations to eliminate grievances caused by past zoning transactions lies with the TBMM, Aslan said that İBB Assembly members cannot be expected to make decisions contrary to current legislation.

Aslan said, "Let them enact the law, let them bring it, and according to that law, if there is something that falls to us in the assembly, together with our friends, if it is in accordance with the law, we will do it."

Stating that the İBB is ready to provide technical support if a legal study is prepared so that Tuzla residents are not victimized, Aslan said, "Duties change, names change, but files do not change, documents do not change, and the law does not change. Eventually, justice will be served."