![](\"http:\/\/ch.jfdi.cc\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/turkish-cypriot-property-being-misused-in-polis.jpg\")
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Lawmakers on Tuesday heard about shady practices in the area of Polis, where Turkish Cypriot land is reportedly being used for growing crops in \u2018under the table\u2019 transactions between lessees and farmers.<\/p>\n
Nikos Kettiros, chair of the House refugees committee, spoke of around 16,000 decares of land around the village of Polis that are being cultivated without a lease<\/strong>. Those cultivating the lands do so illegally, for example by subletting to others, while at the same time pocketing a subsidy from the Agricultural Payments Organisation (Koap).<\/p>\n A decare is equal to 1,000m\u00b2. Koap pays out a subsidy of \u20ac25 per decare.<\/p>\n \u201cThe scammers are onto them [Koap], they do whatever they like,\u201d Kettiros remarked.<\/p>\n The Akel MP cited the case of a person who permanently resides in England, has a lease on a tract of Turkish Cypriot land, but then \u201csomeone on their own went there arbitrarily and is cultivating the land, with no lease, no contract, and he collects [the subsidy] from Koap.\u201d<\/p>\n An official from Koap confirmed to legislators that this sort of practice is going on.<\/p>\n Kettiros said the committee has asked the Turkish Cypriot Properties Management Service as well as Koap to investigate the matter to find out whether the individuals getting the subsidy are in fact the farmers<\/strong> cultivating the land.<\/p>\n The MP also spoke of cases of persons who hold large tracts of Turkish Cypriot land legally \u2013 in other words, they hold a lease \u2013 but sublet the land through \u2018under the table\u2019 deals, so that they collect the \u20ac25 subsidy while the farmer gets to use the land without paying any rent.<\/p>\n For his part, Dipa MP Michalis Yiakoumi said these lands should be used by refugees and displaced persons. He called for an on-site visit to the area by MPs.<\/p>\n Elaborating on the issues faced by Greek Cypriot refugees, Kettiros voiced dissatisfaction with the fact that there were no references to refugees or a plan of action for them in President Nikos Christodoulides\u2019 \u2018State of the Republic\u2019 speech a day earlier.<\/p>\n Likewise, the Pancyprian Union of Refugees, summoned to parliament, said the 28 pages of policy plans read out by the president contained not a single instance of the word \u2018refugee\u2019.<\/p>\n Follow the Lawmakers in Cyprus have been informed of illegal practices involving the cultivation of Turkish Cypriot land in the Polis area. Around 16,000 decares of land near the village of Polis are being cultivated without proper leases. Individuals involved in these practices are illegally subletting the land and receiving subsidies from the Agricultural Payments Organisation (Koap), which pays \u20ac25 per decare. An official from Koap confirmed the existence of such fraudulent activities. The House refugees committee has requested investigations by the Turkish Cypriot Properties Management Service and Koap to determine if the individuals receiving subsidies are the actual farmers working the land. Some legal leaseholders are also subletting their land through unofficial agreements, collecting subsidies while the actual farmers use the land without paying rent. Lawmakers have suggested that these lands should be utilized by refugees and displaced persons. Concerns were also raised about the lack of mention of refugees in the President’s recent policy speech.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2606,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"Default","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[671,3,407,250,193,673,503,284,531,268,674],"class_list":["post-2605","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cyprus","tag-akel","tag-cyprus","tag-farmers","tag-google","tag-nikos-christodoulides","tag-polis","tag-president-nikos-christodoulides","tag-property","tag-refugees","tag-turkish-cypriot","tag-turkish-cypriot-property"],"acf":{"keyphrase":"","keywords":"","sourceimg":"","country-category":""},"yoast_head":"\n
\nCyprus Mail on Google News<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"