Page 419 - Bahrain Gov annual reports(V)_Neat

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In the following year the first census of the population was held and this was carried out
mainly by the Land Department. It proved of great value when rationing was introduced.
A second census was held in 1946.
In 1941 an important ordinance was published on the subject of ownership by long occu-
pation. After this date people claiming ownership by squatters’ right were required to prove
that they had occupied the land continuously since 1336 Hejira, this was later amended to
ten years uninterrupted occupation.
When land values began to rise, from about 1942, it was found that foreigners who had
made fortunes out of smuggling'and black-market trading were buying up property in Manama
from Bahrain subjects. In order to prevent the alienation of land an ordinance was issued
forbidding Bahrain subjects from selling or mortgaging their land to foreigners. At the same
time the Ruler appointed a committee consisting of senior members of the family to examine
and deal with all applications from members of the family who wished to sell land ; usually
permission was only given if new property was bought in place of what was sold. * The com-
mittce also dealt with the estates of members of the family who died.
In principle the head of the Khalifah family, the Shaikh, is responsible for providing for
all members of the family. The ancestral property, which is mainly date gardens, reverts to
the Shaikh on the death of the holder ; he may then allot the property to the heirs of the
previous holder, which usually happens, or distribute it to other members of the family. For
this reason the disposal of ancestral property without approval is forbidden.
In 1946 the value of land bought and sold in Bahrain during the year was 28 lakhs. In
1956 the amount paid by purchasers buying land in Bahrain was 77 lakhs (£477,000).
Among the duties which the department undertook in 1947 was the assessment of rents in
cases of disputes between landlords and tenants which reached the courts. In 1948 over 50
cases were submitted for reports, in almost every case the tenant complained because the land­
lord wished to eject him, in order to let the premises at a higher rent. By degrees these
cases decreased and in recent years the department has only reported on about a dozen cases
every year.
In 1949 the Kozabeia district was mapped as a building area, with wide straight roads-
Land was sold to the public at Rs 1/- per square foot. In the beginning buyers were few but
soon there was great competition to buy land and when in a year or hvo it was all sold, plots of
ground changed hands at Rs 3/- per square foot. Most of the houses were built for letting as
the Arabs of the older generation retained the belief that it was unhealthy to live on the out­
skirts of Manama near the edge of the date gardens, which was true before the mosquitos had
been driven out of the gardens ; they also preferred to be within easy walking distance of their
shops and offices as the bus services in Bahrain are not organised and are unpredictable.
In 1950 the Government bought back from the British Government an area of land on the
shore at Kozabeia which had been sold in 1936; it also bought back the old quarantine station
at the land end of the flying boat pier, which the R.A.F. had been allowed to construct on the
shore opposite the Quarantine compound. A block of flats for government officials and two
bungalows were built on this land.
ln 1950 an ordinance was published which forbade people who owned only one house
from mortgaging the house. This action was taken as a result of a series of cases in the courts
when a notorious money lender acquired a number of houses by lending money at high interest
and then foreclosing.
Another matter dealt with by the department was the cleaning of springs and water
channels supplying water to date gardens in the country. The water from every spring is shared
by many garden owners and the ramifications of the system are very complicated. In the
past when the springs and channels needed cleaning the owners of the gardens called on their
tenants and the people of the near villages to do the work, without payment. In more modern
times the work is done by contract which is arranged by a committee of landowners through the
department. The cost is divided among the landowners and calculated on the quantity of
water used for irrigating each garden and on the rent. This method now works well but before
the Department took a hand in it there were innumerable quarrels and often the whole project
Was given up. Many of the old springs have dried up and gardens which used to depend on
natural springs are now irrigated by artesian wells.
In 1957 an ordinance was issued to prevent minors born in Bahrain of foreign parents from
Acquiring land before they came of age, at which date they had the option of becoming Bahrain
Objects or retaining their father’s nationality.