Page 443 - Records of Bahrain (7) (ii)_Neat

!

Rural resources 833

BAHRAIN Ho. 3 - 9th February, 1950.

j
Issue by X-
IMil'AKTMliNT OV l'UIH.IC ItHLATIONS NEWS LETTER
AND ItltOADCASTINU
MANAMA, IIAIIKAIN
-------

Good Nov/a Tor Bahrain Villagers

When the ootabli3hment of tho Department of Rural Affairs of
the Bahrain Govornmont was announced in December of laat year it was
also elated that the Department v/ae to bo reoponeiblo for tho administ­
ration of tho villages without municipal organisations and would co­
ordinate tho work at present being undertaken in the villages by the
various Government Departments. Included in the terms of reference of
the Rev/ Department was the responsibility for controlling new building
and tho checking of land ownership upon which new building is carried
out. The formation of u Committee was also announced that would under­
take a survey of land ownership in the villages.
This four man Coininittoo is now hard at work und its members
aro visiting in turn each of tho numerous villages of Bahrain. Tho
first village to be surveyed was Budaiya, a largo village situated to
the Morth-Wo3t of Bahrain. The Committee did not concern itself with
the older houses in the village, whose ownership had been clarified
when tho Band Settlement Survey of Bahrain was carried out between
1925-1931» but only studied the position of thoso houses built sinco
that date whose occupiers were not in fact the owners of tho land upon
which the houses wore built, which was in fact State Land. The
Committee submitted its report to His Highness tho Ruler of Bahrain
and the sequel followed yesterduy whon H.IS. Shaikh Isa bin Sulrnan Al-
Khalifa, Crown Prince of Bahrain, having received tho documents from
tho Director of tho Department of Rural Affairs, acting on behalf of
the Rulor, presented to each of the villagers whose house had been
built on Government property a land registration document transferring
tho land to them und their descendants as gifts rom His Highnos3 the
Rulor. Tho ceromony, at which $0 villagers received registration
documents, took place at tho houso of tho wukhtar or Village Headman
of Budaiya and was attended by a largo number of pooplo from the
villago.
This littlo ceremony will bo repeated many times in different
parts of Bahrain during tho coming year aftor the inspection Cominiltoo
has visited tho villages, and will give to tho pooplo of tho villages
of Bahrain who have built their now housos outsido the traditional
boundarioa of tho villages a sonso of security about tho future of
their dwellings. The Department of Rural Affairs is meunwhilo prepar­
ing its plans for tho development of tho villages of Bahrain which will
bo undertaken once the land ownership projjlom has beon solved by moans
of tho activities of tho Committee.

k