Louis Eddy Joson : “Landslides and pollution are the two main reasons for the stoppage of the Metro Express project”

Louis Eddy Joson of the ‘Debout Citoyens’ NGO has filed a notice – ‘Mise en Demeure’ to the Prime Minister’s Office- PMO, the Ministry of Public Infrastructure and Land Transport, The Ministry of  Housing and Lands, the Ministry of the Environment and the Metro Express Ltd to fight against the Metro Express project. In his notice, Joson mentions nine reasons why he considers the project as ‘irrational, illegal and unfair to the population of Mauritius’.

The nine reasons underline the negative impact of the construction and exploitation of the Metro Express as follows- Noise and vibration for inhabitants and wayfarers, air pollution, visual impair, health and safety, traffic density, impact on flora and fauna on the trail of the metro, on purity of water, increase of waste and on coastal zones, wetlands and rivers.

News on Sunday met Eddy Joson for a better understanding of his notice and as to why he wants that such a prestigious project should be frozen.

We know of you as a social worker. How is it that suddenly you talk as an expert on landslides?
In Mauritius, landslide issues have become a major concern today due to recent natural disasters resulting from environmental and climate changes and the increase of land development on steep slopes. Over a hundred houses are in danger in many parts of Mauritius from Port Louis to Quatre Soeurs because of landslide.

In fact a major report was published in 2015 by the Japan International Cooperation Agency following a multilateral cooperation agreement signed between Mauritius and Japan in 2015. In June 2015, a Landslide Management project was submitted to the government of Mauritius in which 37 landslide-prone regions are mentioned including Vallée Pitot, Chitrakoot and Quatre Soeurs as the sites most dangerous for construction. In Port Louis, only there are 12 sites mentioned including Mgr Leen near La Butte, Camp Chapelon, Montée S of GRNW and the place near Eidgah as the most dangerous places for any kind of construction. My knowledge of landslide is based on the report and at no time did I pretend to be an expert in the matter. The Ministry of Local Government and the central government should take their responsibilities before any major project is undertaken in these areas.

Inhabitants residing near or in the vicinity of the track will unduly undergo serious harm and prejudice because of environmental impacts like noise, vibration and air pollution emanating from the Metro Express."

You also talk of the environmental impact of the metro on the daily life of the people. Don’t you think that experts and engineers have already studied the matter before undertaking the project?
In my notice served to the promoter of the project and all ministries concerned, I mention that citizens and especially inhabitants residing near or in the vicinity of the track will unduly undergo serious harm and prejudice because of environmental impacts like noise, vibration and air pollution emanating from the Metro Express. When you mention of engineers and other persons responsible of the project must have studied all negative impact, I must tell you that I mention in my notice that these very people have failed to follow scrupulously the rules of Law of the Republic related to the Environment Protection Act 2002, Section No 16 to 26, in obtaining the ‘The Environmental Impact Assessment- E.I.A  Permit /License duly recommended to many institutions.

The money allocated by the government of India is already available and the project will have to start soon or else there will be penalties to pay by the government?
In fact there is an important point that the population is not taking into consideration. We object in our notice that we are ‘objecting and contesting the illegal operation of the parties involved in the project and the Government of Mauritius at utilising urgently the grant received from the government of the Republic of India, in investing the said grant into ‘Metro Express Ltd, from Curepipe to Port Louis only while excluding totally the rural region of the Republic of Mauritius, Rodrigues and Agalega; that this is unjust, unfair and unreasonable.’
Following these reasons given above, we maintain that we object to the operation of constructing and operating and exploitation of Metro Express as it stands today on the grounds of negative ecological, social and financial aspects.

What next?
The Notice was served on August 29 2017. The authorities concerned should have reacted within 24 hours. Nothing is in view up to now. We are compelled to ask for a judicial review on Monday 11 September.

Our legal advisers have underlined that where there are more than 50 buildings concerned for destruction to make place for a development project, a Building and land Use Permit and an EIA license should be produced. In this project no such demands were met."

In the meantime residents of Cite Barkly have accepted compensation…
Yes. Residents of Cite Barkly have accepted compensation and those of La Butte have negotiated for a better share but the fight of ‘Debout Citoyens,’ is not about compensation. Our contention is on the whole project, from Curepipe to Port Louis, concerning 72 housing estates and 103 businesses where no EIA report has been submitted.

Our legal advisers have underlined that where there are more than 50 buildings concerned for destruction to make place for a development project, a Building and land Use Permit and an EIA license should be produced. In this project no such demands were met. It is only now that we learn that a firm from Singapore will come for these necessary papers.

As soon as the case of La Butte and Barkly is over, we shall come back to study the construction project on the track from Curepipe to Port Louis.