The Tamavua Action Group stresses that given the severity of the risks involved in the Great Han building construction along Princes Road, they ask that the government appeal the recent decision and also requests the much-needed Environmental Impact Assessment for the development.
President, Pavan Haer says they are disappointed and concerned by the decision of the Environmental Tribunal to set aside the safeguards that the Department of Environment had put in place on the Great Han development at 81-87 Princes Road in Tamavua.
The residents remain concerned about the construction of the building at the edge of the Tamavua-i-Wai Ridge, the lack of public consultation and no Environmental Impact Assessment or full geo-tech assessment done before the project was given the green light.
Haer says a decision on this development has been made without the community or experts being consulted.
He says as the Tamavua Action Group has repeatedly emphasized, allowing the Great Han development to proceed without adequate technical review could constitute a major risk to public safety, as well as an environmental hazard.
They urge the Government to appeal this decision without delay.
The Tamavua Action Group says they understand that the ruling of the Environmental Tribunal was based on a narrow legal technicality and was made without the benefit of any expert opinion on the need for the safeguards proposed by the Department of Environment, media reports on the decision suggest the ruling was based on a confusion that the development was never subjected to an EIA and while a CEMP was approved, irregularly, in 2014 without an EIA, that CEMP was for a development with a completely different design.
Haer says as the Tamavua Action Group has pointed out repeatedly, many studies have highlighted the risks posed by developments along the geologically fragile Tamavua-i-Wai ridge.
He says these risks were clearly spelled out in the report of the Technical Review Committee that the Department of Environment commissioned in November 2023.
Haer says the most pertinent risk is a repeat of the devastating landslide in 1980 that tragically claimed the lives of a mother and her three children.
The Tamavua Action Group is also concerned that the risk of a collapsing retaining wall, similar to the recent one on Ratu Dovi Road, can also not be discounted.
We have asked the Department of Environment and the Permanent Secretary, Doctor Sivendra Michael has confirmed that the Tribunal decision will be appealed.
The matter is with the Solicitor General’s Office.
Stay tuned for the latest news on our radio stations
