President Kavuş: “We will not let anyone infringe upon the rights of Meram and its 350 thousand residents.”

The Mayor of Meram District in Konya, Mustafa Kavuş, stated that they do not give in to illegal structures and will not do so in the future, saying, “Our stance against those who build on agricultural land, those who infringe upon the rights of 350,000 Meram residents with illegal and unlicensed structures, and those who deceive our citizens with lies, scams, and slanders has always been clear and will not change. We have not and will not allow lawlessness, injustice, looting, and illegal and unlicensed structures in Meram.”

Mayor Kavuş shared the recent developments in their long-standing fight against illegal structures at a press conference held at the Tantavi Culture and Art Center, aimed at protecting the rights of Meram residents. He expressed that they have been resolutely fighting against all illegal structures, especially those built on agricultural lands, since the day they took office, emphasizing that no threats, blackmail, or actions could stop, interrupt, or sabotage their efforts.

“There are two sides in the fight against illegal structures; one thrives on lawlessness, the other on the law”

Starting the meeting by providing information about the ongoing situation that has occupied the city’s agenda for a while, Kavuş stated that there are two sides to this process: “First of all, I want to underline this clearly. There are two sides to this process and what is happening; one side is the Meram Municipality, which sees it as its duty to defend the rights of 350,000 Meram residents to the end, and the other side consists of a small group of 8-10 brokers who believe they can infringe upon the rights of 350,000 Meram residents, who see nothing wrong in earning money through illegal means, who still do not understand the determination of Meram Municipality regarding illegal structures, and who think they can cover up their illegalities and injustices by shouting loudly on social media channels, and who believe they can intimidate us with threats and blackmail. I want to especially distinguish the honest real estate agents who do their jobs properly and do not withhold their support from us during this process from these individuals.”

“We have not given the slightest concession regarding illegal structures, and we will not”

Despite the repeated public announcements that the Meram Municipality would not concede under any circumstances to buildings constructed on agricultural land or risky and illegal structures, President Kavuş noted that this ill-intentioned group has not ceased to construct buildings on agricultural land and engage in illegal construction, ignoring the warnings. “Some thought they could infringe upon the rights of 350,000 Meram residents. However, we have never given up protecting the rights and law of the district’s people, and we have stated that we will never give up this sensitivity today and tomorrow. Those who insist on ignoring the law and boundaries thought that if they raised their voices loud enough, they could make us take a step back or submit; however, we have never compromised our resolute stance. This is why their voices have become so loud.”

“Those trying to plunder agricultural lands are experiencing the aggression of finding us against them”

President Kavuş stated that they are obliged to protect agricultural lands, continuing his speech: “Especially after the pandemic, food security and agricultural lands have gained even more importance. Following that, this security and protection have increased further. Meram is an agricultural city. A significant portion of the city’s vegetables and fruits comes from Meram. City life and agriculture are intertwined in Meram. Agriculture is very important and valuable for Meram, and Meram is very important for agriculture. In such an important matter, a group of ill-intentioned real estate agents, I emphasize distinguishing them from our honest brothers who do their jobs properly, wanted to sacrifice agricultural lands in Meram for the sake of making money. They expected us to concede so they could profit. As we did not concede, their voices grew louder. They thought that if they shouted, they could intimidate us, but they were mistaken.”

“You cannot divide agricultural lands”

Providing detailed information about the ongoing process, President Kavuş noted: “The main rule is this; you cannot divide agricultural land. The law and practice are this clear. Agricultural land cannot officially be divided and nothing can be constructed on it, regardless of whether you are rich or poor. The laws say this, not us. There have been those who have divided agricultural lands into parcels through illegal methods that appear legal. They tried to sell a field they bought for 300 to 500 thousand TL for 10 million by fencing, planting trees, and using other materials. They thought they could come to Meram, divide the lands, and build on them while we would just watch. We did not only demolish illegal structures; we also tore down those fences and other illegal constructions. When they say, ‘Where were you when these were being built?’ we were there, tearing down their living and non-living fences and illegal structures while they were dividing the land. We have demolished three million meters of fencing. This means preventing nearly 5,000 new parcel formations. We must protect agricultural land and stop illegal construction; we cannot allow arbitrary actions, and we have not. When agricultural lands cannot be officially divided, there are those who changed methods and continued to sell through cooperative methods. They followed a method that has no tangible legal validity, but that did not work either, and it could not.”

“Those dreaming of illegal and unlicensed structures have not learned from earthquakes”

In his speech, President Kavuş also addressed the reasons for preventing illegal structures, reminding that Turkey is a country prone to earthquakes: “After the earthquake that affected 11 provinces, buildings and structures were examined by experts for months. It turned out that most of the buildings did not comply with regulations. Under such circumstances, many residences and hobby gardens sprouted like mushrooms during the pandemic. The situation got out of hand. Is the earthquake not going to affect that garden house? While our state is taking precautions to ensure that people can live in more solid buildings, is it right to allow this? Moreover, the structure has gone beyond garden houses. Structures that started as garden houses have turned into residences and even villas.”

“The validity of the construction registration document they have has been canceled by the ministry”

Furthermore, recalling that there has been a zoning peace process in Turkey, President Kavuş stated that the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization, and Climate Change issued construction registration documents for buildings constructed before December 31, 2017, based on citizens’ declarations. He noted that these declarations were later scrutinized one by one. “They examined whether the buildings of those who received this document started construction before this date, i.e., before 2018, or later. The documents of those who started construction after this date were canceled by the ministry, and in addition to cutting off their electricity and water connections, they sent us instructions to demolish these structures. If they are not demolished, the ministry itself demolishes them and demands twice the demolition fee from us. We are not at fault here. The goodwill of the state seems to have been abused. Most of the objections come from those who started construction after this date. They are objecting without legal justification. They create the perception that we are acting against the law, whereas their actions are the ones that are actually against the law. We are not taking any action against those who have a construction registration document issued before 2018 and whose declarations are correct. We also do not demolish structures that have been documented as built before 2018 and whose construction registration documents have not been canceled. This ill-intentioned group is trying to disturb the citizens in this situation by saying that we have demolished these structures to draw them to their side. We act within the framework of the law here. The municipality does not take action for rights defined by law.”

“As we said, ‘Do not build, do not buy, do not sell,’ they said, ‘Nothing will happen'”

President Kavuş stated that they have repeatedly warned both citizens and those who carry out these illegal transactions, saying, “Do not build. Do not buy. Do not sell,” and that they have put up warning signs at all points where there is potential for illegal construction. He urged those who deceive themselves saying ‘Nothing will happen’ to be vigilant. “These structures, like those built without licenses as permanent residences, are not legal. They thought, ‘We will infringe upon the rights of 350,000 Meram residents,’ but those who think this way were also mistaken. The Meram residents outside of these groups bought licensed plots, obtained their permits, and did their business. They spent a lot of money and effort. They obtained licenses. They could have also purchased agricultural land and built a hut on it. If we do not demolish these illegal structures, we would be rewarding the ill-intentioned real estate agents I mentioned who consider themselves clever and punishing the citizens who comply with the law. Moreover, we have not just started this demolition work; we have been fighting against these for five years. I will not abandon justice and fairness for the sake of 5 or 6 real estate agents who are loud. I must also say that raising one’s voice cannot cover up the crime.”

“Receiving a door number does not mean the building is legal”

Stating that receiving a door number does not constitute a legally valid reason, President Kavuş emphasized that a door number does not mean that the structure is on a licensed or permitted basis. He expressed that the law for zoning is clear and reminded the relevant regulation, noting that it does not consider whether a building is designated for residence, its usage, or whether it has construction documents when assigning a number to a building. He continued, “The state assigns a number to every building for reasons such as security. This does not mean that the building is licensed, permitted, and legal.”

“We do not demolish a property the first time we see it. There is a process to this”

President Kavuş noted that one of the most frequently asked questions is, ‘Where were you when these were being built?’ and continued, “Our answer is clear; we were right there. We said, ‘Do not do it.’ We invited them to the municipality with notifications to explain the matter. We sent notifications for warning and for demolition. We invited them to the municipality and explained. They continued construction stubbornly, thinking ‘Nothing will happen.’ While the structures were being built, we had documented the incidents and warned them, providing a time frame. Instead of stopping the construction of the illegal structures, the citizens continued until the end of the given period. Then we applied the official procedure and demolished. These procedures are actions we are obliged to carry out within a specific timeframe. We do not demolish a property the first time we see it. The process goes on, and then a demolition decision is issued. We do not discriminate while doing this. We have demolished the illegal structures of those who attack us on social media. This is their main concern. We have not yielded to dirty deals and threats.”

“Sefaköy Houses is a place opened to zoning in 1998 and is not agricultural land”

Responding to criticisms regarding Meram Hobby Gardens and Our Meram Mountain Houses, President Kavuş stated, “The ‘Our Meram Mountain Houses’ were established under the leadership of our municipality at the Sefaköy junction, but the zoning of that area was opened in 1998. We only facilitated the establishment of a cooperative in this area, which was opened to zoning a quarter of a century ago. Even before us, it was planned to establish a cooperative twice, but it had not happened. So this place is not new; it was opened to zoning in 1998. I would also like to emphasize that this area, which has been idle for more than 25 years, has contributed resources to our municipality with the establishment of the cooperative, and this resource has been used for the services of our citizens. The ‘Meram Hobby Gardens’ rented to our citizens are also not agricultural land; they are areas designated for facilities. The zoning plan approval is also from the year 2000.”

Warning from Kavuş to citizens

President Mustafa Kavuş concluded his statements by saying: “We will continue to stand firm against the hobby gardens built on agricultural land in Meram and the dirty games played over them. We will not allow anyone to infringe upon the rights of Meram and Meram residents. If our citizens voted for me to defend the rights and law of 350,000 people and entrusted this district to us, it is my duty to defend it to the end within the framework of law and regulations. Despite all this, it is also necessary to separate citizens who state they are victims from those who fuel this situation. These individuals have been victimized not by us but by these ill-intentioned real estate agents. Our citizens should hold accountable not us for their grievances but those from whom they bought these properties. We have done our part; we warned. We have warned repeatedly. We did not just start demolitions to prevent this lawlessness. We have been fighting since the day we took office. Even during the election process, we continued demolitions without providing an opportunity for the rumor that ‘it will be allowed in the election atmosphere.’ If we had concerns, if we were worried about votes, we would have stopped. While all this was happening, we must also look at the issue from another perspective. We must engage in this fight for orderly urbanization, solid buildings, and the future of Meram. In this regard, we want to warn once again those who intend to build illegal structures; our priority is illegal structures built on agricultural lands, especially those identified will face the same fate as the previous ones. We recommend that they do not start such illegal constructions, and if they have started, to stop them. We also warn all our citizens not to purchase such uncertain properties. Our team members are at the service of our citizens to learn the status of the properties they will purchase and to obtain information. Our aim is that not a single citizen is victimized. At this point, we will continue to stand by them. I declare once again to the public that the Meram Municipality will never allow illegal and risky structures, and I want everyone to know that we will continue to protect the rights and law of our citizens meticulously.