The Lagos State Government has issued a warning to all property owners and developers in the Magodo Residential Schemes to immediately desist from developing wetlands in the area.
This warning was contained in a statement issued by the Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Dr. Idris Salako at the weekend.
The Commissioner said that it was worrisome to observe that some people were attempting to take advantage of the sign-off of the Revised Schemes by making efforts to construct a building on the wetlands without approvals from relevant Government Agencies.
He said that the State Government is irrevocably committed to the planning standards enunciated in the painstaking Revised Magodo Schemes document and would go all the way to ensure total compliance in the interest of a sustainable Lagos State.
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Salako emphasised that indiscriminate development of wetlands would not be encouraged anywhere in the State as it is potentially dangerous and harmful to the environment.
He canvassed that every part of the State should take a cue from the prohibition of indiscriminate reclamation of Osborne and Banana Island foreshores, and extension of land into the waterways as well as the subsequent clampdown and demolition of buildings illegally erected in the prohibited areas.
Noting the importance of the wetlands, he reiterated that the State would not allow any development on the Magodo greenbelt without recourse to necessary clearance and approval from relevant Government Agencies, adding that the wetland must be preserved as an environmental asset for flood control.
His words: “I wish to emphasise that the Administration of Mr. Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu does not pay lip service to Physical Planning issues because of their overarching importance to the achievement of a sustainable Lagos”.
“This informs why the Revised Magodo Scheme and its dictates for the development of the elite residential schemes are sacrosanct and any deviation from it will be met with serious punitive measures”, Salako asserted.
