Mauritius Launches Squatter Regularisation Plan in Ti-Rodrigues
The government has approved a multi-step process to legalise land occupation by families living on private land in Ti-Rodrigues, Port Louis.
The Mauritian government has given the green light to a formal process aimed at regularising the situation of families who have been living illegally on privately owned land in Ti-Rodrigues, a locality in the La Cure area of Port Louis.
Ti-Rodrigues is a community that takes its name from the many residents of Rodriguan origin who settled there over the years. Many of these families have occupied land informally for a long time, creating a legal and social grey area that the government is now moving to resolve.
The initiative will be carried out in phases and falls under the joint responsibility of the Ministry of Housing and Lands and the Ministry of Social Integration, Social Security and National Solidarity.
In the first phase, social surveys will be conducted with the affected families. This work will be led by the Ministry of Social Integration working alongside the National Empowerment Foundation, known as the NEF. The NEF is a government body set up to support vulnerable and low-income communities across Mauritius.
At the same time, the Ministry of Housing and Lands will carry out an administrative study to draw up a land subdivision plan. This plan will also factor in the infrastructure and services that would need to be put in place to make the area properly habitable, such as roads, water and sanitation connections.
The process will also involve steps under the Land Acquisition Framework, the legal mechanism through which the government can acquire private land for public or social purposes, typically with compensation to the landowner.
What this means: For the families living in Ti-Rodrigues, this regularisation process could eventually give them legal title to the land they occupy, or at the very least move them toward formal housing arrangements. It removes the constant risk of eviction that comes with informal occupation. For the original private landowners, the Land Acquisition Framework means the state may seek to purchase their land to facilitate the process. This kind of initiative has social significance in Mauritius, where informal settlements often house the most economically vulnerable residents, and where land rights can be a source of long-running disputes. The timeline for completing each phase has not yet been announced.
Source: ION News
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Ti-Rodrigues in Port Louis, Mauritius?β
Ti-Rodrigues is an informal community located in the La Cure area of Port Louis. It is named after its large population of residents originally from Rodrigues, the outer island of Mauritius. Many families there have lived on privately owned land without formal legal title for many years.
What is the National Empowerment Foundation (NEF) in Mauritius?β
The National Empowerment Foundation, or NEF, is a Mauritian government body tasked with supporting vulnerable and low-income communities. It operates under the Ministry of Social Integration and is involved in social surveys and empowerment programmes, including housing-related assessments.
How does the Land Acquisition Framework work in Mauritius?β
The Land Acquisition Framework is the legal mechanism that allows the Mauritian government to acquire private land for public or social purposes. It typically involves compensation being paid to the private landowner. It is used in cases such as resettlement or infrastructure projects where the state needs to take control of privately held land.
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