- Dooshiant Ramluckhun, mayor of Quatre-Bornes: “There will be no policy of double standards”
The Outline Planning Permission (OPP) issued in the name of Anwar Husnoo, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Regional Administrations, and his wife, granted by the municipality of Quatre-Bornes on November 17, 2022 for the construction of a health clinic six floors at Avenue des Tulipes, “has already expired” and “is no longer valid”. This is confirmed by the mayor of the city of flowers, Dooshiant Ramluckhun.
In a statement to Le Défi Quotidien on Thursday, the chief magistrate of Quatre-Bornes affirmed that no other request has yet been submitted for this clinic project led by the company Vital Care Co Ltd. The two shareholders of this company are Deputy Prime Minister Husnoo, who is a doctor by profession, and his wife. Vital Care Co Ltd submitted an EIA (Environment Impact Assessment) permit application to the Ministry of the Environment last April for the construction of a clinic. In his file, the developer had to emphasize having already obtained an OPP from the Quatre-Bornes town hall. A priori, this document would therefore no longer be valid and would therefore not have been the subject of an extension.
So, says the mayor, “for the moment, there is nothing”. But, he specifies, “a person is not obliged to come with a PPO. She can directly apply for a Building and Land Use Permit (BLUP). The application must be published in two newspapers and a sign must be placed on the site in a clearly visible location. At the town hall, the request will be worked on by officials and will then be put on the agenda of the town hall’s Permits and Business Monitoring Committee.” Please note that this body meets every Wednesday.
However, if the City Council receives objections to the proposed development following public notification procedures within the prescribed 15-day period, the Permits and Business Monitoring Committee may hold a hearing as soon as possible to hear the various parties. The Permits and Business Monitoring Committee will determine the validity of the objection and make a decision within three business days from the effective date of the application.
Dooshiant Ramluckhun specifies that if ever a request is made concerning this clinic project, it will be examined with all the rigor required. “When it comes to something political, the town hall inspectors take even more precautions. At Quatre-Bornes town hall, we are very transparent about it. There will be no double standards.”
Lack of transparency in Parliament
In any case, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Regional Administrations did not demonstrate total transparency on this issue in Parliament last Tuesday. MMM MP Joanna Bérenger wanted “with regard to the construction of a private clinic in Sodnac by Vital Care Co. Ltd. », obtain information on the date on which the OPP was issued for this purpose.
In response, Anwar Husnoo had to respond that “the Sodnac region falls under the jurisdiction of the Quatre-Bornes municipal council. I have been informed by the Board that no PPO has been issued to Vital Care Co. Ltd. I was also informed that in fact there is no PPO request from this company. The question therefore does not arise.”
Joanna Bérenger was unable to ask additional questions as Speaker Sooroojdev Phokeer objected. In any case, the MP asks if there is no conflict of interest in the fact that the OPP “used for the application was issued by her own ministry and is in the name of the minister – same” and emphasizes that in practice, a PPO “is not transferable from one name to another. Even if he is the director of the company which proposes to build the private clinic in Sodnac, the OPP should have been in the name of the company making the application and not in his personal name.
