Housing and the Environment Minister Dr Roodal Moonilal says he and Food Production Minister Vasant Bharath are still friends despite the unresolved farmers/housing impasse. Moonilal has rejected a call by the farmers for him to apologise for the bulldozing of their crops by the Housing Development Corporation (HDC) at D'Abadie and Chaguanas during the Easter weekend. The land is to be used to construct houses.
Bharath said he was prepared to do whatever it took in the interest of the farmers. Questioned whether the impasse was affecting the relations between the two ministers, Dr Moonilal said: "We are Cabinet colleagues. We are very cordial. We have always had a very warm relationship and nothing has changed." He added: "The matter is a development challenge that is common to many emerging societies. We are both committed to our twin development objective of affordable and adequate housing and food security," Bharath said "there will always be conflict" if there was no clear, definitive land policy in T&T. (RL)