Dumpsite scandal; land is State-owned despite ‘forged contract’

Santo Domingo.- The land where Greater Santo Domingo’s only dumpsite operates is State-owned and cannot be sold, said Bautista Rojas, head of the commission which audits the properties of the State Sugar Council (CEA).

The revelation comes in the wake of the scandal over the ownership of the land where the dump operates, including the existence of an allegedly forged sales contract.

He said so far the investigation found only the donation of a section of the land at Duquesa in 1995 to then mayor Rafael Suberví Bonilla, but that there is no sale contract.

“So far what has been found is that they were lent to the mayoralty of the (National) District in 1995 for 20 years,” he said, noting that it’s an issue that now goes to the Executive Branch, but that neither “Lajun nor no one” owns the land, in reference to the Duquesa dump’s operator.

Nonetheless, Lajun Corp., which was fined RD$16.0 million by the Environment Ministry, still prevents technicians of the various city councils from entering the landfill.

Duquesa’s operations continue normal after Environment militarized it with agents of the National Environmental Protection Service since last week to guarantee offloading by the garbage trucks.