MPs vote to prioritise housing for Bahraini families over tree-planting plans in Madinat Salman

TDT | Manama

Email: mail@newsofbahrain.com

MPs have voted to scrap tree planting plans in Madinat Salman and use the land instead for housing Bahraini families who have waited more than two decades for a roof over their heads.

The decision came yesterday, when Parliament approved an urgent proposal to reassign plots once set aside for greenery. The land had originally been intended for housing but was later diverted for landscaping.

The proposal was tabled by MP Jalal Kadhem, who said the shift was aimed at easing pressure on the public housing list, where thousands of applications have been left hanging for over 20 years.

“Families have waited long enough,” he told the chamber. “This land was meant for housing. It’s time we went back to that.”

Ample green areas

Kadhem argued that Madinat Salman already has ample green areas, including parks, tree-lined avenues, walkways and a landscaped seafront.

He said the parcels in question could be put to better use without leaving the town bare or grey.

The MP cited Article 5 of the Constitution, which defines the family as the bedrock of society, and Article 9, which urges the State to provide homes for those on lower incomes.

Backlog

He said the change in land use would help ease the backlog while making better use of space that had remained idle for years.

In his words, public land “ought to serve the people first”.

Should the plan go ahead, the area could take in hundreds of homes, giving long-waiting families a place to live and shaving down the length of the queue.