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PM sends Lands minister back to drawing board
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PM sends Lands minister back to drawing board
“Site visits help to see if projects are viable or not,” PM Paul Bérenger asserted last Saturday after visiting sites in Merville and Flic-en-Flac for which the ministry of Housing and Lands had already designed master plans for tourist infrastructure. Ministers Joe Lesjongard (Housing and Lands), Mookeswur Choonee (Local government), Alan Ganoo (Public utilities) and Rajesh Bhagwan (Environment) and their senior staff as well as local authorities accompanied the PM. After what he saw, the latter decided that the ministry will have to review these master plans so that they meet the environment and public interests.
The PM insisted that government is not against development but the latter should not be to the detriment of local residents and the environment. In Flic-en-Flac, inhabitants of Morcellement Anna had gathered in one organization to try and stop the project – three bungalow complexes, one shop and a leisure complex - that would block their access and view onto the magnificent cliffs in front of their bungalows. They had written to the prime minister to express their dissatisfaction.
“Gut reaction”
After a walk along the cliffs, the prime minister claimed how beautiful the place was. He said he was shocked by the “high-class squatting”. Some residents had encroached on the pas géométriques with their swimming pools. He insisted on the need for a flying squad to ensure that land owners respect the boundaries.
Before going to Flic-en-Flac, the prime minister had visited a site in Melville where there again he had shown his discontent. He said he had a “gut reaction” when he heard that “the most beautiful and busy public beach” had been allocated to two promoters in 2000: Falaises Noires and Société Brabant. The master plan for Melville included bungalow complexes, one major hotel site, four other bungalow sites, the enlargement and reengineering of the coast road.
He reiterated his wish to develop the country but “with techniques reckoned internationally.” He also guaranteed that two beaches out of three in Melville would become public beaches. Likewise, he ordered a survey of all barachois as most are unused in Mauritius. The latter could be developed into public leisure areas.
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