the Land Drainage Masterplan, he will, for the benefit of the House, obtain from the Land Drainage Authority…
(No. B/1137) Ms A. Savabaddy (First Member for Port Louis North & Montagne Longue) asked the Minister of National Infrastructure whether, in regard to the Land Drainage Masterplan, he will, for the benefit of the House, obtain from the Land Drainage Authority (LDA), information as to the number of Building and Land Use Permit applications referred to the LDA by the local authorities following the publication thereof, indicating the time taken for the processing thereof.
Madam Speaker, I wish to inform the House that the Land Drainage Masterplan, commissioned by the Land Drainage Authority, was published on 25 August 2025 following Cabinet approval. A technical committee was set up in February 2025 to review the document. Following its recommendations, the Masterplan, together with the associated maps and data sets, were published in its entirety. The digital elevation model was also made accessible to the public.
54 Madam Speaker, I am informed that since the public release of the Land Drainage Masterplan, and up to 28 November 2025, a total of 358 Building and Land Use Permit applications have been referred to the Land Drainage Authority by the local authorities. Madam Speaker, I am also informed that the time required to process Building and Land Use Permit applications depends mainly on – 1. The submission of a complete set of documents, including site plans, drawings of the proposed development, the computer-aided design file in required format and Storm Water Drainage reports where applicable; 2. The complexity of the proposed development, and 3. The examination of Storm Water Drainage reports where warranted. Currently, the average processing time ranges from one working day to approximately two months depending on the complexity of the case and the completeness of the submissions. Incomplete submissions or the omission of required documents inevitably delays the processing of applications. Madam Speaker, I must admit that there have been considerable delays in the processing of Building and Land Use Permit applications and I am personally not satisfied with this situation. Therefore, in order to prevent undue delays in the examination of documents and the issuance of permits, a dedicated team of four officers has been constituted to work on backlog and expedite matters.
Yes.
Je remercie l’honorable ministre pour sa réponse. Peut-il expliquer ce qui sera fait pour ramener, j’ai bien compris la réponse, le long délai avant que la LDA ne tranche sur une application ? Merci.
Madam Speaker, as I just said, I was myself not satisfied. There was only one officer working on all the documents and everything. Now, I have set up a dedicated team of four officers and an Engineer is heading it. So, I am sure that we will be expediting matters for the permits.
Yes.
En ce qui concerne les demandes de permis pour des constructions qui se trouvent hors de la red zone du Masterplan, pourquoi dans des cas également, la LDA
55 n’arrive pas à statuer et cela bloque les collectivités locales dans l’octroi du Building and Land Use Permit ?
All these will be things of the past.
Yes. You are happy now, Ms Savabaddy?
I am waiting for the results.
Yes, hon. First Member for La Caverne and Phoenix. VACOAS POPULAR MULTIPURPOSE COOPERATIVES SOCIETY – REPRESENTATIONS – IRREGULAR SALES OF LAND