These are plans that will remain secret! Infrastructure Minister, Bobby Hurreeram, on this Parliamentary Session held on 16th June was clear on the subject, despite the insistence of the Opposition Leader, Xavier Luc Duval. The latter was waiting for an explanation as to why the plan for these “Flood-Prone Areas and Natural Drainage Paths” has not been made public until now. He also questioned the work done by the Land Drainage Authority in the Flood-Prone Areas.
This Land Drainage Master Plan is a topographic map of flood-prone areas. It highlights land and houses that are susceptible to flooding. It also highlights the constructions identified on natural drains and areas on a natural drainage path in Mauritius.
“It’s a secret and a source of corruption”
Xavier Luc Duval’s insistence on making the Master Plan public is based on one big reason, he is convinced that local authorities are already acting on the recommendations of the Land Drainage Master Plan and refusing to grant building permits! He also believes that people are buying land that is worthless and in red zones. And that more than a thousand houses in Quatre-Bornes and 2,000 in Rivière-Noire are at risk of flooding. “It’s a secret and a source of corruption. People need to know,” said XLD.
To date, 297 flood-prone areas and 67 high-risk areas were identified by the Land Drainage Authority (LDA) earlier this year. Namely, at present, only three people are in possession of a copy of this map, including Minister Hurreeram, the Director of the Land Drainage Authority (LDA) and the Land Drainage Master Plan consultant. As a result, the Minister even asked XLD, “where did the report in his possession come from?”
Neither discussed nor approved by the Cabinet!
In his reply, Bobby Hurreeram made it clear that “it does indeed contain technical data that must be correctly interpreted by the competent authorities. We are talking about a report that could create chaos if the data is misinterpreted, it contains ‘technical data’,” he said, revealing that the Cabinet has not yet approved the Land Drainage Master Plan and it has not been discussed at the Cabinet meetings. It will only be made public afterwards! The Minister also revealed that this flood zone map identified in the Land Drainage Master Plan will be revised to adhere to the effects of climate change.
Minister Hurreeram also argued that “future development on residential, commercial and industrial land in flood-prone areas will depend on the level of vulnerability. In high-risk flood zones, such developments will not be recommended. Whereas in other flood zones, specific conditions will be imposed on a case-by-case basis”. He also recalled that “earlier this year, when the flood-prone areas were identified and during the preparation of the Land Drainage Master Plan, a budget of Rs 11.7 billion was allocated for the implementation of the national flood management programme.” He also reiterated that “the priority of the government is to save people’s lives before any other priority, be it land development or any other commercial development.” Bobby Hurreeram also reassured that in those areas designated as red zones in the Land Drainage Master Plan, “work has been undertaken to avoid any calamity. Some of these areas may be removed from the Land Drainage Master Plan after studies on their level of flood risk.”
XLD appeal
At his post-PNQ press conference, Xavier Luc Duval made a general appeal, that is of “stopping all development until the Land Drainage Master Plan is made public”. He argued that this still secret document contains about 10,000 pages and about 15,000 Mauritians may be at risk. In a document made up of satellite images, he highlights several parcels in Black River, Quatre Bornes and Albion, such as the Splendid View parcel, which are in these “flood-prone areas”. Nando Bodha, the leader of the Rassemblement Mauricien, has demanded a counter-expertise of these satellite images, either in person or on the ground.
Here are some pages of the XLD document given to the press:
