Squatters residing on protected areas will be removed.
This news comes from Minister of Land and Marine Resources Jairam Seemungal four days after Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar’s announcement on Monday that the People’s Partnership Government would regularise all squatters, if given a second term in office.
Seemungal said while it would be a humongous task to regularise the existing 60,000 squatters, some of whom have been living on state lands for as long as 60 years, squatters who had encroached on natural, ecological and cultural lands would have to be removed, as the Government intended to conserve these areas at all cost.
There are approximately 350 squatting sites in T&T, Seemungal said.
Areas with the highest squatting populations are Toco/Sangre Grande and Point Fortin.
On Friday, Seemungal said his ministry was working in tandem with the Environmental Management Authority (EMA) to have these squatters uprooted and relocated.
While the ministry has been trying to tally how many squatters are living on protected areas and the acreage they are occupying, Seemungal said “where the EMA and Forestry Division does not give approval on these lands, we will try to find a formula to have them (squatters) removed.”
Seemungal said it would be difficult to remove some squatters who had encroached on forest reserve lands.
He cited one community at Pine Settlement in Sangre Grande, which is regarded as an environmentally sensitive area, that would not be touched, since millions of dollars had been spent on infrastructural development under the then People’s National Movement administration.
“It would be difficult to move them from this protected area because roads, drainage and electricity have already been provided to this community,” Seemungal explained.
Melajo, Northern Range
and Valencia—areas squatters should not be living
Seemungal listed Melajo, the Northern Range and Valencia as areas where squatters should not be residing.
Chairman of the EMA Dr Allan Bachan identified the Aripo Savannas in Valencia, Nariva and the Caroni Bird Sanctuary as protected areas squatters have invaded.
“Those are protected areas. Squatters should not be there in the first place. Those are the three areas that I can remember off the top of my head that I could tell you we have a problem with. The squatters are also doing farming inside these protected areas, which should not be taking place,” Bachan said.
Since the State is the landlord of 63 per cent of the country’s land, Seemungal said he often wondered about the role of the Forestry Division which had more powers than the Commissioner of State Lands to bring lawbreakers before the courts.
“[The Forestry Division’s] powers is that they can take people before the court for chopping or burning down a tree, whereas the Commissioner of State Lands has to serve notice on parties and then wait for the matter to come before the court.”
To ensure that squatters do not encroach on natural, ecological and cultural lands, Seemungal said the ministry had taken before the Legislative Review Committee draft containment legislation.
“That would come before the Parliament some time soon. It is in its final stage,” Seemungal said.
Commenting on the moves to regularise all squatters, Seemungal said the process would involve two stages—the distribution of certificates of comfort (COC) followed by the awarding of leases, which would have to be worked out in the coming months.
He denied that the PM’s announcement to regularise the squatters was a ploy to woo votes for the upcoming election, stating that people needed stability in their lives.
LSA destroyed 700 unoccupied houses in five years
In the last five years, Seemungal said, the Government had distributed over 7,000 COCs and granted leases to 50 squatters.
The Land Settlement Agency (LSA) also destroyed 700 unoccupied structures.
Last year, Seemungal said, the ministry took digital imagery of all the squatting sites.
The ministry recently purchased a drone, which has the capacity to do aerial photography on all squatting sites in a matter of days.
“We will be using the drone on a regular basis to fly over all the squatting sites and take out digital photographs which will be coded and used by the ministry to ensure that squatting is contained. If the imagery shows that a new house is in the process of being erected or has been erected, the Commissioner of State Lands will move in to have it demolished.”
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The LSA is authorised under the State Land Regularisation of Tenure Act number 25 of 1998 to prevent and contain further squatting on state lands and to regularise eligible existing squatters. A person who is eligible for regularisation must have occupied a dwelling house on the property prior to January 1, 1998, and applied for a COC before 2000.