$100,000 to repair St Lucien Road

WORKS MINISTER Franklyn Khan said developer of the Vale View Project, Gowkaran Mahabir, may have to dish out some $100,000 of his own money to repair unauthorised work done on St Lucien Road, Diego Martin, two weekends ago.  St Lucien Road residents were up in arms over the road’s closure to facilitate the laying of sewer lines by contractors Ian Ramdeen, who were acting on behalf of Mahabir.

Speaking with Newsday during yesterday’s tea break in Parliament, Minister Khan said he received a letter from Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA) CEO Errol Grimes which said permission was given to connect the sewer lines but not to close the road. He said by next week the Ministry will begin to repair the road and NIPDEC should have already awarded a contract to that effect.  Khan added that Mahabir will have to bear the full cost of works to repair the damage to St Lucien Road. Asked what the cost of those works would be, the Minister said it could be “over $100,000.” National Security Minister Howard Chin Lee said he did not know the specifics of the road’s closure but has requested a report on the matter. Senior police officers stated that St Lucien Road residents were supposed to have been consulted by officers from the district police station (West End Police Station) prior to the road’s closure and residents said they were not consulted by the police. The officers said an investigation has been launched and disciplinary action will be taken against those officers, if they did not consult the residents.

Diego Martin East MP Colm Imbert said the problems at St Lucien Road were the fault of former Planning Minister John Humphrey, who approved the Vale View Project before he demitted office. Humphrey said he could not recall that project or any of the specifics such as whether an Environmental Impact Assessment was done or whether the Ministry’s Town and Planning Division approved the project. He said the Town and Country Act gave the minister the power to approve these projects and the former government created an advisory Town and Planning Committee to deal with problems relating to such projects. Humphrey conceded there could be problems with the Vale View Project since it involved townhouses being built atop an old quarry and “hills are difficult to develop.” He threw the blame into the lap of current Planning Minister Dr Keith Rowley and the PNM for not supporting UNC legislation to create a National Physical Planning Commission.