At issue is an assessment by the General Inspectorate of Agriculture, the Sea, the Environment and Spatial Planning (IGAMAOT).

According to Expresso, which relies on data from IGAMAOT, of 1,312 urban operations evaluated, 94% presented illegalities, and 59 municipalities were scrutinised. The assessments “aimed to evaluate the performance of public entities in the pursuit of national interests,” said the entity.

The publication also writes that the sample in question can be extrapolated to the national reality since the trend was observed in other years and in other municipalities.

The data reinforces the warnings raised by several experts regarding the risks of revising the land law, which will allow the conversion of rural land into urban land for the construction of houses.

Among the municipalities with the most illegal urban operations detected in inspections were:

Mira (100);

Almeirim (81);

Ferreira do Zêzere (76);

Silves (75);

Chaves (40);

Vila do Bispo (36);

Vagos (36);

Sintra (35);

Sines (34);

Terras de Bouro (30).