Land allocated to the Estate Dam and Coconut Dam communities in Cane Grove on the East Coast of Demerara will be resurveyed for regularisation; meanwhile road rehabilitation works will continue.
This message was brought to the rice farming community by Ministers Susan Rodrigues and Deodat Indar. According to a Guyana Water Inc (GWI) press release Rodrigues, the Minister in the Ministry of Housing, explained to the East Coast gathering that the last survey of the Estate Dam community was based on occupancy and that of the 135 lots surveyed, 83 were regularised and 52 contentious. Rodrigues said that the 52 are either squatting or have extended their fences and living quarters onto government reserves and are blocking drains. As a result the Ministry cannot proceed with regularisation.
The release stated that these lands will now have to be resurveyed and regularisation will follow, a process that will allow the Ministry to then address demarcation, drainage and other structural issues. Rodrigues said that the existing residents did not occupy their lots based on the original housing plan. She further said the NDC has reported resistance from some residents and called for full cooperation to move forward. Resurveying will also contribute to equitable distribution of land. Surveyors will be sent to identify correct boundary lines and notices will be issued to defaulters in order to fully regularise the community; the community will then be handed over and administered by the Neighborhood Democratic Council.
The GWI press release referred to comments by Indar, the Minister in the Ministry of Public Works, who said while some road upgrade works are ongoing, he intends to have his ministry assess other areas where road works are needed. Indar also told the gathering that he is prepared to go to Parliament to secure funding to complete these projects. On the residents’ concerns about the quality of materials being used to conduct these works, Indar stated that his ministry will be working in collaboration with GWI to ensure pipelines are relocated in a timely fashion so that works can go on schedule. GWI’s release said that visits were conducted to a number of households and the ministerial delegation observed blocked drains that were causing stagnation of water and in some places non-existent drains.
