Legislation will be coming to the Parliament next year that would result in errant developers paying compensation to homeowners whose properties were damaged by floods and landslides caused by improper building practices.

’We’re gonna have to get very, very tough with them in 2009,’ said Works and Transport Minister Colm Imbert yesterday.

Imbert, who is also the Leader of Government Business in the House of Representatives, made the announcement as he revealed a plan for the reconstruction of three major rivers in North Trinidad set to begin next year.

’And I have already decided to deal with this problem. This is not a small problem. This is a big problem,’ Imbert said.

His comments came as areas in Diego Martin and Maraval,that are part of his constituency,continue to recover from flooding and landslides caused by the torrential rainfall that besieged several areas in that part of the country since Thursday.

Imbert’s plan, which could cost at least $50 million for the Diego Martin and Maraval Rivers alone, comes as Prime Minister Patrick Manning has said his administration has to ’tighten its belt ’ because of the ongoing international financial crisis.

’We’re looking at maybe $30 to $40 million to repair the damaged areas of the Diego Martin River and similarly the Maraval River maybe $20 or $25 million but we need to spend the money because if we don’t we’re gonna have tremendous damage to property and tremendous losses to people,’ Imbert said.

He said the repairs needed to deal with parts of the paved river bank along the Diego Martin highway extension, which have either broken down or are cracked right behind people’s homes, would cost $1.2 to $2 million.

Imbert was speaking at the site where a section of the 1.2 km Diego Martin highway extension was reconstructed after it caved in because the Diego Martin River wall near it collapsed on Thursday night due to raging waters caused by the heavy rains.

The extension was commissioned by Imbert on March 5, 2006 and had been constructed by Jusamco Pavers Ltd at a cost of $42 million.

The entire highway extension was closed to the public on Friday but was reopened on Saturday.

Imbert commended the Works and Transport Ministry Drainage Division personnel for their ’fantastic work’ since the gaping hole where the highway extension collapsed was reconstructed in less than 24 hours.

He said, while the age of the rivers was part of the problem, squatters and developers who did not stick to the buidling regulations must also be dealt with.

’And there is a project that I intend to make a personal project to make sure the laws are changed in 2009 so we can get tough with developers, so we can fine them, so we can charge them, so we can force them to compensate people who have been affected by mudslides and muddy water and damage to property and households,’ Imbert said.

He also noted that the many of the drainage systems like the Diego Martin River were 40 years old and ’were never designed to cope’ with the kind of rainfall that fell in North West Trinidad from Thursday to Saturday.

Imbert said a rain gauge in Moka, Maraval, recorded 155mm of rain between Thursday night and Friday morning alone, which was more than the 140mm 30-year mean average for all 31 days in December.

’This river was built when I was in primary school, So this wall has fallen down, it is not Imbert’s fault,’ Imbert said.