State land encroached on by citizens

The phenomenon of appropriating state land is huge in Greece, according to figures submitted in Parliament yesterday by Alternate Finance Minister Tryfon Alexiadis.

Even local authorities have been found to have usurped state land, while in Attica alone eight out of 10 state properties have been breached by private parties.

That has led to millions of square meters of land being claimed by usurpers as their own, highlighting the problems that state authorities face in their efforts to utilize public land, while also illustrating the inability of the state to protect its land.

The data that Alexiadis presented, in response to a question by New Democracy deputy Evangelos Basiakos, prove that the competent authority for public property is unable to handle the problem owing to being understaffed.

The people who have appropriated state property appear in court...