OPPOSITION SENATOR Shirley Williams has accused the Government of using agricultural land for other purposes than intended.
Senator Williams made the accusation at a Senate committee meeting last Thursday to deal with a resolution passed in the Senate examining the use of prime agricultural lands in Jamaica.
"Government, in my view is the biggest violator ... ," she said.
"I think we need to look at it because what is happening is the use of agricultural lands outside of the approval process under the Housing Act or under such other legislation, which permit ministers and government to circumvent the planning process," she stated.
Senator Williams also asked that the resolution be extended to include private lands that are being used for other purposes.
UNUTILISED LANDS
But responding to the accusations, Dr. Mohini Kiswani, senior director of land administration in the Ministry of Land and Environment said the ministry has been pressured from time to time to divest unutilised lands for residential and commercial purposes over the last decade.
- Dionne Rose
