Land Grab in San Juan; Propose Village Extension is Being Cleared Out by Non-Villagers

Is there a land grab going on in San Juan Village? According to Chairman Carlos Peraza – it would appear so and the village council has no idea who is taking up the lands that has long been designated as an extension for the village. The community of San Juan, which has over six hundred residents, is located at mile thirty-five on the Southern Highway, just seven miles away from Independence Village. The village is surrounded by reserve lands – but many years ago, a portion of adjoining land was set aside to be given out as lots to villagers. This extension, while on paper, has not officially materialized. But in recent months, the village leader noticed increased activity on this proposed extension.  In an interview on Thursday, he told us what’s been happening in his village.

Carlos Peraza

Carlos Peraza, Chairman, San Juan Village

“I did mention that some lands are being taken away from our village. Not only is our village being disrespected but also Government, perhaps, because we do have village laws that should be respected. Last year we had a meeting at DAVCO level where we decided that all recommendations for land acquisition should be recommended by the village chairman. So far, if you can see to the back, we don’t have any person coming into the village saying I would like this piece of land. And this land has been designated for San Juan Extension. We do have land we would want to give for the villagers. Since last year we have been working to acquire permits to survey. In the past, there were lots given out without proper permission so that is where my problem starts. We need to get this solved before we do any other expansion. We have many villagers who would want a piece of land to build their houses and we are just seeing that people are just coming in and taking and that worries us a lot.”