FCTA to prosecute developers of illegal structures on waterways, green areas
FCTA to prosecute developers of illegal structures on waterways, green areas
The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) says it will prosecute any developer caught developing illegal structures on waterways and green areas across the city.
Chief Felix Obuah, Coordinator, Abuja Metropolitan Management Council (AMMC), stated this during a joint inspection of parts of the city on Monday.
During the inspection, Obuah ordered the demolition of a box culvert, illegally constructed on a waterway with the intent to illegally acquire the green area for other purposes without approval.
He said that the structure was illegally constructed by an unidentified Chinese company on Park 293, Utako, by Shehu Yar’Adua Way.
He explained that the green area was located behind a Chinese hotel under construction, adding that the move was allegedly to extend development on the water way illegally.
The coordinator said that erecting structures on waterways was one of the causes of flooding.
“We saw a Chinese company we can’t identify, but people around the area said it was being constructed by a Chinese company that owns the hotel in the front of the green area.
“They trespassed down to the green area in an attempt to illegally acquire it which was not in the approval given to the owner of the hotel,” he said.
Also, Mr Mukhtar Galadima, Director of Development Control, FCTA, said that contravention was discovered during a routine inspection of ongoing projects across the city.
Galadima said: “My team and I came to inspect what is going on at the site of the ongoing construction of a hotel by a Chinese company.
“In the process, we noticed the reclamation of the green area and we alerted the council.
“Once we identify the culprit, we will look at the prescribed sanctions that could be applied as punishment to deter others.”
The Director, Parks and Recreation Department, FCTA, Mr Chidemelu Echee, said that the green area was designated as Park 293 in the Abuja Master Plan with a development plan for it.
Echee pointed out that the world was gripling with global warming and expressed dismay that certain individuals were cutting down trees and building concrete on waterways.
Read Also: FG approves National Integrated Electricity Policy to transform…
“It is unfortunate that some characters could contravene the law and alter the entire ecosystem.
“The waterway is a river that is alive and should not be tampered with “and if you do, then it is a disaster waiting to happen”.
On his part, Mr Osilama Braimah, Director, Abuja Environment Protection Board, described the development as a “great environmental degradation.”
Braimah said that the area was a natural flood plain, adding that “the entire city management plan was to leave them as they were because they helped in maintaining the biodiversity of the city.
“Constructing concrete structures on a green area is out of place and against the master plan”.
Similarly, Mr Abdulrahman Mohammed, acting Director-General, FCT Emergency Management Department, said that no structure built on waterways would be allowed to stand.
