Last Updated on Tuesday, 13 May 2025, 22:11 by Writer
A man, who said he is the owner of land at Vreed-en-Hoop, West Bank Demerara, has sued the State for trespassing on his property by erecting facilities for the gas-to-energy project, according to court records.
Pharmacist Malcolm Carryl has filed an action against Attorney General Anil Nandlall, claiming more than GY$20 million in damages for trespass on his land at Block X, Vreed-en-Hoop Old Railway Station, West Bank Demerara.
In the court papers, Mr Carryl said the Ministry of Natural Resources’ Gas-to-Energy Task Force has been on his land, described in Transport No. 1271, since October 2024.
He said a concrete foundation and a long pole are on a portion of his land in preparation for an apparent connection to the transmission lines owned and controlled by Guyana Power and Light (GPL).
He said he was unable to get the use and benefit of a substantial portion of his land, resulting in him suffering loss and damages.
Mr Carryl said he went to the Gas-to-Energy Task Force office on Cowan Street, Kingston, where he informed two persons, who held themselves out to be lawyers, about the trespass.
He said the lawyers were “alarmed and surprised” that he owns the land.
“They claimed that their research revealed that the land was not owned by anyone,” according to the Statement of Claim filed by his lawyer, Lyndon Amsterdam.
“Despite the claimant informing the attorneys for the Task Force about his ownership of the land, works have continued on his land in defiance of his rights, title and interest in the said land,” the court papers say.
According to Mr Carryl, who owns and operates “Countryside Pharmacy”, he intended t0 use that area of the land now occupied by the Gas-to-Energy Task Force to construct a bond to store his pharmaceutical products and also to subdivide the land to construct several buildings for housing.
In response, Attorney General Anil Nandlall acknowledged that when Mr Carryl presented his transport for the land on November 12, it was the first time that the Gas-to-Energy Task Force became aware of any such claim.
He said the Task Force and its independent contractor, Kalpataru Projects International (“KPIL”) which erected the transmission line, acted in good faith and on the genuine belief, based upon a Cadastral Survey Plan (Sheet No. 1 of 9), prepared by sworn land surveyor Julian Bennons dated 22nd June 2023, which indicated that the land was Government reserve land, as is most of the area along which the transmission poles are being erected in Vreed-en-Hoop, West Bank Demerara.
That survey plan was recorded at the Guyana Lands and Survey Commission on the 4th August 2023 as Plan No. 84394.
Mr Nandlall said Mr Carryl never participated in public consultations by Public Works Minister Deodat Indar or raised concerns or objections.
Nandlall also contends that the land was not included in the initial acquisition notices due to the reasonable and genuine belief, based on official records, that the land was Government-owned.
In fact, he said the very Transport numbered 1271/2020, which was produced by the Claimant and shown to the GTE Attorneys, contained a description as follows: “Block X being a portion of Government Land, part of Transport and Harbours Department Railway Station Yard, Vreed-en-Hoop, in the Best-Klien Pouderoyen Local Government…”
He said during a site visit on 13th January 2025, Mr Carryl agreed to be compensated for the land after the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission overlays its coordinates with those indicated in a survey plan provided by himself.
“The Defendant is ready and willing to pay compensation for the portion of the subject land which is required for the Project in accordance with the Acquisition of Lands for Public Purposes Act. The Defendant contends that this is the appropriate remedy for any alleged encroachment,” Mr Nandlall said in his response.
Mr Carryl, in his response, said he has a four-apartment building on the land that is 60 feet away from the construction and so an investigation or enquiry would have found who occupies the building and 0wns the land.
He said none of the occupants was aware of a consultation by Minister Indar and his team in June-July, 2024.
“A proper investigation was not done by the relevant personnel in the agencies involved to determine 0wnership of the land but rather these personnel relied on general assumptions,” Mr Carryl’s court document states.
He said it was clear that the Guyana government occupied his land without permission and was now seeking to acquire it under the Acquisition of Lands for Public Purposes Act without an order by the minister.
The land owner said he would contend that he is not only entitled to fair market value of his land but for the loss he suffered and continues to suffer as a result of trespass being committed by the servants, agents and contractors employed by the Gas-to-Energy Task Force.
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