The National Development Council (NDC) should not exploit the nation’s farmland by exempting state-run Taiwan Sugar Corp’s (Taisugar) land developments under 10 hectares from environmental impact assessments (EIA), environmental groups said yesterday.
The Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) in May proposed that developments on Taisugar land bigger than 1 hectare should undergo an EIA.
However, NDC Minister Chen Mei-ling (陳美伶) provoked criticism at the Executive Yuan on Wednesday last week when she proposed to loosen the requirement to developments bigger than 10 hectares in a meeting about expediting industrial investment.
Citizen of the Earth, Taiwan and 11 other groups yesterday issued a joint statement denouncing the council’s proposal.
Responding to New Power Party Legislator Hsu Yung-ming’s (徐永明) questions at the Legislative Yuan yesterday, Chen said land development in non-urban areas within 10 hectares can do without an EIA.
It is curious that development on Taisugar land should conform to stricter regulations, she said, adding that the EPA should offer a more convincing explanation for the divergent standard it proposed.
“Some of Taisugar’s land is no longer suitable for farming, such as the saline areas in Tainan,” she said. “We have to face reality and re-evaluate the status quo of the company’s land.”
Environmental groups said Taisugar lands are supposed to be public properties, rather than a private asset.
Controversies about Taisugar’s farmland started with former premier Su Tseng-chang’s (蘇貞昌) policy in 2006 to encourage investment, Citizen of the Earth director Tsai Huei-hsun (蔡卉荀) said.
Under the policy, Taisugar in the same year relinquished control over 3,385 hectares of farmland for the development of industrial parks and many agricultural lands were gradually ruined by pollution, she said.
For example, the corporation leased its Sinyuan Farm (新園) in Kaohsiung — a total of 60.2 hectares — to six metal and chemical companies, Tsai said.
Four of the six developers evaded the EPA’s Environmental Impact Assessment procedures by dividing their development areas into smaller plots under 10 hectares, Tsai said, adding that construction of the factories has almost finished.
To preserve the nation’s farmland and avert a potential food crisis, the council should withdraw its proposal and Premier Wiliam Lai (賴清德) should avoid repeating the mistakes of the former administration, the groups said.
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