10K Diyala employees excluded from housing plots

Shafaq News- Diyala

More than 10,000 Diyala residents employed by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) have been excluded from residential land allocations in both the Kurdistan Region and their home province, Diyala Provincial Council member Aws al-Mahdawi said on Sunday.

Al-Mahdawi told Shafaq News that the affected civilian and military personnel come from Khanaqin, Al-Saadiya, Jalawla, Qara Tapa and Jabara.

He explained that the employees are ineligible for land allocations in the Kurdistan Region because they are Diyala residents, while authorities in Diyala excluded them because they work for KRG institutions.

The provincial council has formally asked the Prime Minister's Office to authorize residential land allocations for eligible Diyala residents employed by the KRG, bringing them in line with federal government employees, al-Mahdawi said.

According to al-Mahdawi, eligibility would be determined using national identity cards, civil registration records and residency documents to establish applicants' administrative districts, alongside employment verification and checks to ensure they had not previously received benefits that would legally disqualify them.

The dispute follows earlier efforts to address residential land allocations in territories covered by Article 140 of Iraq's Constitution. In July 2024, KRG announced plans to distribute plots to public employees in Kurdish areas outside its administration.