The Plaisance/Industry NDC issued a cease order on November 5th over a controversial construction at Area J, Industry, East Coast Demerara which residents had complained about.
The cease order by the Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC) followed an instruction by Minister of Local Government, Nigel Dharamlall. On his Facebook page, Dharamlall said that “Upon my instruction, the NDC issued a cease order on November 5 to someone who was building without any permits. This issue has been on the agenda since August. Residents had complained and our staff have been dealing with this issue since then visiting the site numerous times”.
He said that on Saturday he visited the area and also met with the residents including one Kim Crandon who had publicly claimed that the NDC Chair told her that he (Dharamlall) had asked them to stand down on the matter.
“In the presence of the public and media, the NDC Chair indicated he never told her anything of that nature. Moreover, it was the first time I was meeting the Chair in person”, Dharamlall said.
He said that Crandon has since publicly apologized to him.
The Minister further said that the NDC has also been instructed to verify the legitimacy of the documents of the person claiming ownership.
“Residents showed me a copy of a document purporting to be a transport dated since April 2014. Apparently, the area was a condemned canal that was owned by GuySuCo. Word around is that it was sold by GuySuCo to the individual.
“Also, the Regional Engineer has been instructed to visit the location to review the drainage issues and the seemingly illegal structures currently being constructed”, the Minister said.
A release on Saturday by the Department of Public Information (DPI) on the visit by the Minister said that the NDC issued the cease order to resident, Roland Dhanraj, who had built the structure at Area J.
DPI said that Region Four Chairman, Daniel Seeram and Industry/Plaisance NDC Chairman, Rodwell Lewis were also present during the minister’s visit.
Dharamlall told DPI “The problem we have here is where an individual claims ownership via transport, whether legitimate or not, of this piece of land. Apparently, that transport dates back to April 2014. The residents here are claiming that since then that individual has been trying to do construction but they have protested against it”.
Only recently, the Minister said, construction was started on a huge fence.
“In our investigations, the NDC did not receive a plan from the individual nor ownership documents and so I instructed my officers to meet with the NDC on November 5 and for them to get a cease order against the construction. We also were able to get the Police involved. The cease order was served upon the individual who claims ownership of the land, and we are where we are at this point in time,” the minister added.
Dharamlall also told DPI that due to miscommunication between the NDC and the residents, they wrongly believed that the Ministry was not addressing the matter.
“The process takes a while. Investigations have to be done, notices have to be served, and that basically took the better part of a month and a half and so we are at a point now where the NDC has been instructed to ensure that they determine the authenticity of the person’s transport and the origin of the transport,” the Minister explained to DPI.
He said that he has also engaged the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL) CEO, Radha Krishna Sharma, on the issue. DPI said that Dharamlall and Sharma visited the site in September where it was revealed that the sale was done by GuySuCo and not NICIL.
DPI said that residents have complained of flooding since the recent rains due to clogged drains. The Minister pledged to send engineers to the area to address this matter.
DPI said that Seeram said that the section of land should be barricaded and signs posted until the documents produced can be verified. DPI said that Seeram was optimistic the portion of land can be developed properly after the matter is resolved and a drainage assessment conducted.
Dharamlall, according to DPI, further said that the NDCs are functionaries of the Ministry and must ensure due process.
“In so far as we are concerned as Government, everything that has to be done must be done legally, and it must be done legitimately, irrespective of who you support, irrespective of who you are, irrespective of how rich you are. Our intention is people must live safely and securely in our communities”, he said.
