Former Environment Minister Dr Mahendra Reddy.

Former Environment Minister Dr Mahendra Reddy has raised serious concerns over the move made by the Prime Minister’s Office to remove the stop work notice on certain development projects.

In a press conference today, the Opposition member stated that investors should be questioned as to why they had failed to follow the signed environmental management plan.

“What if the environmental damage is irreversible? Who will be held responsible? Under the FijiFirst government, we have dealt with numerous investors who argued to pump in millions of dollars and create thousands of dollars and were requesting to waive certain environmental requirements. We did not budge because we had a vision of where we want future Fiji to be.”

Reddy says these projects include the announcement by the government to lift the stop work order for the construction of a $30 million hangar for Laucala Island.

According to Reddy, the previous government followed strict standards and had a scientific basis to address investors’ concerns and ensure that the future generation is not deprived of a quality environment.