In Naranjal, 192 hectares were awarded to a 'ghost'

For $6,000, the State lands, which are in buffer zones of a water project, were handed over. The recipient is unknown.

The banks of the artificial canal known as bypass 3, in Naranjal, were sold to a private person, as reported farmers in the sector.

On the site, according to what they stated, shrimp farms are being built, affecting the public infrastructure and destroying buffer zones for flood control

THE TIME accessed the award document 2012G00654, dated December 7, 2020, in which the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (Magap) yields 192.79 hectares of the right bank of bypass 3 to Henmer Eugenio Garzon Vera, for $5,899.41. Said area; however, it is part of the project of flood control that the Study Commission for the Development of the Lower Basin of the Guayas River (Cedégé) built in 1997.

In the artificial channel, which is 21 kilometers long and has a capacity of 850 cubic meters per second, the flows of bypasses 1, 2 and 5 are channeled, which support the surpluses of the maximum floods of the rivers. Bulubulu, Chimbo, Culebras, Cochancay and Barranco Alto.

land expropriation

On the sides of the canal there agricultural cooperatives from surrounding communities, which for more than 20 years they have cultivated short cycle products. In compensation, they do constant cleaning of the bypass gates, where branches, sticks and debris accumulate that the tributaries drag from the highlands.

In September 2021, said cooperatives were evicted, because the edges of the channel they already had an owner.

On December 7, 2020 the formerdistrict director of Guayas del Magap, Pablo Antonio del Río, signed the award in favor of Garzón. The next day, December 8, 2020, the Municipality of Naranjal registered the cadastre in accordance with article 70 of the Law of Rural and Ancestral Lands.

After three days, on December 9, 2020 the bypass canal mitigation area 3 became private property. Months later canals were built for shrimp pools.

Building retaining walls on the banks of the canal can cause serious damage to the water system.

imminent risk

The time contacted the manager of the Public Water Company (former Cedegé), vanessa plaza. In that institution they confirmed that the construction of shrimp farms on the banks of bypass 3 implies an imminent risk. Being an artificial channel intended for the transit of large amounts of water, any change in its infrastructure can cause serious damage to the stability of the construction.

The Public Water Company, through a statement, explained that reports have been made alerting the situation that “could considerably compromise extensive productive areas and human lives.”

The environmental lawyer César Llivichuzca told La Hora that the award is legal, but he is struck by the fact that the technical report prior to said action avoids pointing out that the property is in beach, bay or mangrove areas. Nor does it indicate that it is part of a water project.

He assured that in these cases the norm prevents adjudications of public lands in accordance with article 13 and 17 of the same Rural Land Law. Llivicuzca recalled that, unfortunately, there are usually land delivery processes with flawed processes.

Unfavorable reports

The farmers in the area (whose names they want to keep confidential, because they have been threatened) denounced before the Ministry of the Environment, Water and Ecological Transition (Maate) the damage to mangrove areas on both sides of the canal.

On November 22, 2021, the Maate made an inspection. The MAAE-DZ5-2021-4977-0 report recommends that “given the effects on the public water domain that are being carried out in the flood plain of bypass 3, the authority orders the initiation of the corresponding actions.”

From the Ministry of the Environment, they confirmed that the process of administrative sanction is in progress. (See box)

On November 24, 2021, the Maate requested the revocation of the award to Magap and the Municipality of Naranjal the revocation of the land use permit.

the owner is a ghost

In the report of the Maate inspection there is the data of the denouncers, but there is nothing about the accused Garzón. The document commissions the Political Chief of Naranjal to locate those denounced and force them to appear and indicate their legal address.

A team from La Hora tried unsuccessfully to find Henmer Garzon, who was awarded 192 hectares of the artificial canal buffer area. He consulted public servants and searched for data in the departments of the municipality of Naranjal, but nobody knew his whereabouts. In the adjudications and in the cadastre documents there is not a single signature of the citizen. There is only one copy of his identity card.

Despite the fact that the defendant does not appear anywhere, the La Hora team received photos and videos of backhoes removing the edges of bypass 3 to continue building aquaculture pools.

At the close of this edition, the community members of the area confirmed that there are shrimp farms in operation and that part of the other bank of the by pass has also been awarded to another person. (DLH)