Illegal construction was back in the conversation on the airwaves last night after the House of Representatives discussed amending the law on reconciling building violations. Legal changes have been discussed this month in a bid to get the government’s ambition to tackle informal settlements back on track.

Why the amendments? Some governorates have been implementing the law differently than others, Rep. Amr Darwish, head of the House Local Development Committee, told Salet El Tahrir’s Azza Mostafa (watch, runtime: 11:34 ), who stressed that a unified set of rules had to be applied nationwide. He said that the government is currently drafting amendments on reconciliation, adding that they would set a “red line to ensure no new violations'' are made.

Reconciliation has stalled: Property owners have submitted some 2.8 mn reconciliation requests since the law came into effect in 2020, but not everyone has paid the settlement fee.

And the government has only responded to a handful of requests: Of the 2.8 mn requests, only 50k-60k have been responded to, Rep. Ahmed El Segni, head of the House Local Administration Committee, told Ala Mas’ouleety’s Ahmed Moussa (watch, runtime: 7:06). Some of those who have paid the fees have complained about not receiving a response from the government. The amendments would include new rules to ensure that authorities make a decision on every request submitted.

Also talking reconciliation last night: Local Development Ministry spokesperson Khaled Qassem, who phoned in to Yahduth Fi Masr (watch, runtime: 7:45).