Although the San Fernando City Corporation is unable to serve a stop work notice to the owners of Stackhouse Company, due to the absence of city engineer Ramesh Sookdeo, deputy mayor Junia Regrello said the company has voluntarily stopped work. “They are holding their hands. The owner is out of the country and there is no one there to make any decisions so they are not doing anything,” Regrello said, regarding the excavation work being done at the base of the San Fernando Hill.
He said when the owner returned only then can they compare his survey plan with theirs. San Fernando mayor Kazim Hosein said Sookdeo is the only one authorised to sign the stop work notice. Regrello said Sookdeo is expected to return from vacation next week and in addition to him signing the stop work notice, they would want to get his report on the development taking place at the Pointe-a-Pierre Road site for the past few weeks.
Stackhouse, a wholesale company located on Pointe-a-Pierre Road, San Fernando, according to Regrello, has approval to prepare the area for a commercial activity, however, he said there are complaints that the developer may have exceeded his boundaries. The city, Town and Country Planning, the Ministry of Energy and the Environmental Management Authority (EMA) are all engaged in the investigation to ascertain if the developer would have breached the laws and quarried parts of the hill, which is a Heritage site.
Regrello said he was happy that the Minister of National Diversity and Social Integration Rodger Samuel, under whose portfolio heritage sites fall, is also getting involved in what is taking place at the base of the hill.
Focusing on the excavated material which has been stockpiled near the Marabella Police Station, Regrello said although it was posing a health and safety hazard, the EMA has stopped the company from moving the material, pending the outcome of their investigation as to who owns it. In the interim, he said, the EMA has instructed the company to continue wetting the material to keep down the dust.
Land grabbing at Valencia and Melajo
And while San Fernando Hill is under the microscope, the Ministry of Land and Marine Resources issued a press release on Thursday, indicating they were also monitoring illegal clearing of lands within forest reserves and environmentally-sensitive areas in east Trinidad. The release states that over the last two weeks there has been unprecedented land grabbing occurring in the Valencia and Melajo Forest Reserves.
“It has been reported that almost 100 acres of pristine forest reserve has been cleared by illegal developers and roads and structures were being constructed with scant regard for the environmental impact.” The ministry said forest reserves are important for their value as watersheds, windbreaks and the recharge of our water resources.
“In addition, they provide habitat for the flora and fauna of the country. The destruction of such sites severely impacts the future of the country especially in this time of climate change where internationally, pressure is being placed on countries to protect, preserve and even increase the forest cover. Indiscriminate clearing of land also results in the siltation of rivers and the reduction of their carrying capacity. The Vega de Oropouche River is so affected and has continually flooded over the past few years where it had never done so previously.”
The Commissioner of State Lands, whose office falls within the Ministry of Land and Marine Resources, is charged with the responsibility of managing all State lands, including the prevention of encroachment upon the same and of spoil and injury to the woods and forests on such lands. “In fulfilling these duties, illegal structures and roads have been removed and the lands are being replanted with forest trees under the supervision of the Forestry Division.
“The exercise being undertaken in the forest reserves are aimed at protecting the environment from speculators who seek to make money off unsuspecting individuals. The State will continue to uphold the law and remove these structures and protect our heritage.” The ministry is urging individuals to assist the State in this exercise by calling the Forestry hotline 800-HALT to report illegal cutting of trees and clearing of lands to help protect our heritage.