SOCIETE PIERRE BLEUE – STATE LAND – LEASE
(No. B/607) Mr M. Allet (Second Member for Beau Bassin & Petite
Rivière) asked the Minister of Housing and Lands whether, in regard to the lease
of State land to Société Pierre Bleue on Pas Géométriques at Anna, Flic-en-Flac,
he will state -
(a) the nature of the lease, and
(b) the date the lease was
(i) approved, and
(ii) signed.
Dr. Kasenally: The Utility Regulatory Authority Act was proclaimed in …
(Interruptions)
The Deputy Speaker: Order, please!
(Interruptions)
Order, please! Thank you. Can we have the attention of Members of this House?
(Interruptions)
Dr. Kasenally: Stop all this!
(Interruptions)
The Deputy Speaker: Order! Order! I am on my feet! I would like to ask
all the Members for their cooperation. I would like everyone to act in an orderly
manner. Can I please invite the Minister to reply to this question! Thank you.
Dr. Kasenally: Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, my fusible is not sauté. So, I start
again…
(Interruptions)
The Deputy Speaker: Hon. Ms Deerpalsing, I would like to ask you to keep
quiet, please!
Dr. Kasenally: Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, in regard to part (a) of the question,
Société Pierre Bleue holds an industrial site lease over a plot of State land of an
extent of 8860m² being part of Pas Géométriques Anna at Flic-en-Flac for the
purpose of a bungalow complex.
The site was originally leased to Mr Demrajsing Sewock for planting fruit
trees and vanilla. In 1996, the lease was transferred in the name of Mr Ashvin
Krishna Dwarka, at the request of the original lessee, that is, Mr D. Sewock. In
1999, Mr Dwarka submitted a notarial feed witnessing the “apport’’ of his
leasehold rights over the subject site in the name of Société Pierre Bleue.
Consequently, the lease was transferred to Société Pierre Bleue as from July 1999.
In December 2005, the purpose of the lease was changed from planting of fruit
trees and vanilla to construction of a bungalow complex. The grant of the new
lease in favour of Société Pierre Bleue was approved on 06 December 2005, and
the lease signed on 23 January 2008.
Mr Guimbeau: Can the Minister confirm there has been a change of
purpose of a lease? It was cultivation, and then it moved to industrial. Can the
Minister confirm this?
Dr. Kasenally: As I said, there has been a change in the purpose of the lease
in December 2005.
Mr Guimbeau: Can the Minister tell the House if there has been any change
in the membership of the société from time of approval of the lease and time of
signature of the lease?
Dr. Kasenally: This is what I have said; from the time of reservation and the
grant of new lease made in favour of Société Pierre Bleue. The site was originally
leased to a Mr Sewock. I have made it quite clear in my answer.
Mr Guimbeau: If you go on the agreement, on article 18, the change of
membership and purpose of a lease; if you will allow me, I read it, Mr Speaker,
Sir.
The Deputy Speaker: No, I would rather you put your question…
Mr Guimbeau: It’s two lines. “In case of any change in the membership of
the society…”
The Deputy Speaker: Hon. Member, I would like you to put your question.
You cannot go and read the clause of an agreement. Put your question to the
Minister.
Mr Guimbeau: No, Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir. It is clearly stated in the
agreement that if you change purpose and shareholders, the lease has to be
cancelled. How is it that the lease has been renewed for another 60 years?
The Deputy Speaker: So you see, you can put the question without reading
the article.
Dr. Kasenally: Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I think if clause 18 is included in
the initial reservation, then the lease cannot be given to another person if there is a
change. But, in this case, article 18 does not apply.
Mr Guimbeau: I have a last question. What I would like to ask hon.
Minister is to review the procedures on the lease, because this is a typical case, Mr
Deputy Speaker, Sir, where some friends get a cultivation lease, then convert the
land into industrial, sell it to a society, transfer it to somebody else, and sell it for
millions overnight, and the State gets peanuts, Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir. What I
would like to ask the Minister is when he is going to review the State Land Act, so
as to ensure that this kind of things does not occur again.
Dr. Kasenally: In fact, Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, it has been reviewed.
That’s why we have included article 18, which makes it impossible to change the
purpose of the lease. However, we are reviewing it still, and we are trying to
improve upon it to prevent people who have got ulterior motives when initially
asking for a piece of land for a specific project.
Mr Allet: Je souhaite, M. le président, au nom de la transparence, que le
ministre fasse une enquête pour éclaircir des zones d’ombre, et je dépose aussi the
industrial site lease between the Government and Société Pierre Bleue.
Dr. Kasenally: I will certainly look into that, Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir.

Sitting tuesday 23 june 2009

(No. B/607)

Mr M. Allet (Second Member for Beau Bassin & Petite Rivière) asked the Minister of Housing and Lands whether, in regard to the leaseof State land to Société Pierre Bleue on Pas Géométriques at Anna, Flic-en-Flac, he will state -

(a) the nature of the lease, and

(b) the date the lease was

(i) approved, and

(ii) signed.

Dr. Kasenally: The Utility Regulatory Authority Act was proclaimed in …

(Interruptions)

The Deputy Speaker: Order, please!

(Interruptions)

Order, please! Thank you. Can we have the attention of Members of this House?

(Interruptions)

Dr. Kasenally: Stop all this!

(Interruptions)

The Deputy Speaker: Order! Order! I am on my feet! I would like to ask all the Members for their cooperation. I would like everyone to act in an orderly manner. Can I please invite the Minister to reply to this question! Thank you.

Dr. Kasenally: Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, my fusible is not sauté. So, I start again…

(Interruptions)

The Deputy Speaker: Hon. Ms Deerpalsing, I would like to ask you to keep quiet, please!

Dr. Kasenally: Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, in regard to part (a) of the question, Société Pierre Bleue holds an industrial site lease over a plot of State land of an extent of 8860m² being part of Pas Géométriques Anna at Flic-en-Flac for the purpose of a bungalow complex. The site was originally leased to Mr Demrajsing Sewock for planting fruit trees and vanilla. In 1996, the lease was transferred in the name of Mr Ashvin Krishna Dwarka, at the request of the original lessee, that is, Mr D. Sewock. In 1999, Mr Dwarka submitted a notarial feed witnessing the “apport’’ of his leasehold rights over the subject site in the name of Société Pierre Bleue. Consequently, the lease was transferred to Société Pierre Bleue as from July 1999.

In December 2005, the purpose of the lease was changed from planting of fruit trees and vanilla to construction of a bungalow complex. The grant of the new lease in favour of Société Pierre Bleue was approved on 06 December 2005, and the lease signed on 23 January 2008.

Mr Guimbeau: Can the Minister confirm there has been a change of purpose of a lease? It was cultivation, and then it moved to industrial. Can the Minister confirm this?

Dr. Kasenally: As I said, there has been a change in the purpose of the lease in December 2005.

Mr Guimbeau: Can the Minister tell the House if there has been any change in the membership of the société from time of approval of the lease and time of signature of the lease?

Dr. Kasenally: This is what I have said; from the time of reservation and the grant of new lease made in favour of Société Pierre Bleue. The site was originally leased to a Mr Sewock. I have made it quite clear in my answer.

Mr Guimbeau: If you go on the agreement, on article 18, the change of membership and purpose of a lease; if you will allow me, I read it, Mr Speaker, Sir.

The Deputy Speaker: No, I would rather you put your question…

Mr Guimbeau: It’s two lines. “In case of any change in the membership of the society…”

The Deputy Speaker: Hon. Member, I would like you to put your question. You cannot go and read the clause of an agreement. Put your question to the Minister.

Mr Guimbeau: No, Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir. It is clearly stated in the agreement that if you change purpose and shareholders, the lease has to be cancelled. How is it that the lease has been renewed for another 60 years?

The Deputy Speaker: So you see, you can put the question without reading the article.

Dr. Kasenally: Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I think if clause 18 is included in the initial reservation, then the lease cannot be given to another person if there is a change. But, in this case, article 18 does not apply.

Mr Guimbeau: I have a last question. What I would like to ask hon. Minister is to review the procedures on the lease, because this is a typical case, Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, where some friends get a cultivation lease, then convert the land into industrial, sell it to a society, transfer it to somebody else, and sell it for millions overnight, and the State gets peanuts, Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir. What Iwould like to ask the Minister is when he is going to review the State Land Act, so as to ensure that this kind of things does not occur again.

Dr. Kasenally: In fact, Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, it has been reviewed. That’s why we have included article 18, which makes it impossible to change the purpose of the lease. However, we are reviewing it still, and we are trying to improve upon it to prevent people who have got ulterior motives when initially asking for a piece of land for a specific project.

Mr Allet: Je souhaite, M. le président, au nom de la transparence, que le ministre fasse une enquête pour éclaircir des zones d’ombre, et je dépose aussi the industrial site lease between the Government and Société Pierre Bleue.

Dr. Kasenally: I will certainly look into that, Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir.