Caroni land dispute heads to court

THE proposed distribution of lands belonging to Caroni (1975) Ltd to former sugar workers and farmers, seems to be heading for the High Court. It began yesterday when an elderly couple of Couva was granted a conservatory order by a judge, restraining the Couva/Tabaquite/Talparo Regional Corporation from taking possession of 15 acres of land. The couple has been living on and planting the land for the past 12 years. The land, located in Gran Couva, is owned by the now defunct Caroni, but agricultural farmers Anupia Bhagiratee and husband Ramcharitar Gupta have claimed in a lawsuit that they have been planting crops on the lands since 1982. They live off the proceeds of sales from short crops as well as fruits they plant.

The couple also live on the land. Bhagiratee and Gupta claimed that the Corporation recently entered the lands and destroyed their crops. Workmen from the Corporation have begun clearing the land to build a recreation ground. In a constitutional motion filed in the Sub-Registry in San Fernando, the couple contended that Corpora-tion personnel have informed them that Cabinet had agreed to vest the lands in the Corporation. Justice Mira Dean Armorer has ordered the court papers be served on the Corporation and the State.