Brasília, 1/13/2003 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - The work group set up by the Ministries of Justice and Cities reports that the effort to deal with illegal Brazilian urban habitation will begin with occupied government-owned land where there are urbanization plans.

According to the secretary of Urban Programs, Raquel Rolnick, the government needs precise mapping of its own property. "We know that some of this property is illegally and precariously occupied by low-income families. We also know that some of this property is occupied by upper-class condos, which are not always legal, either. We need a policy to bring this situation under control so we can implement rational urbanization. The way to halt illegal urban habitation is to have an effective policy for access to housing for low-income families," explained Rolnick. (AB)