A RATHER healthy Government minister's name is being linked to a land deal in Maracas, St. Joseph. Farmers and residents of Maracas Valley are asking who really purchased the once fertile agricultural lands they planted for years? The lands are located on the Western slope of Maracas Royal Road, overlooking the home of Minister in the Ministry of Finance, Conrad Enill, in Riverdale Gardens. Residents say for sure that Minister Enill is not the minister who owns the land. The lands have been an area of controversy, as far as ownership was concerned, for sometime. The overseer for the lands was known by everyone as "Pooloon", a farmer who did a considerable amount of farming on the same lands. Pooloon was often referred to as the man in charge and the lands were rented out to farmers, by him, for a small fee. According to the farmers, the land was very fertile and many persons benefited. "Some built houses, purchased cars and educated their children. "Now that the land is sold we have to go elsewhere," one farmer said. Another farmer who worked that land for almost 15 years said: "It was really a good area to plant because of the easy access to and from the garden and the crops could be seen. "One could actually watchman the garden from home." Other farmers said that the advertisement for the sale of the lands appeared in the newspapers. "The sale of the land appeared in the newspapers but under a different area, nearby Maracas Gardens. "Everybody knew it was that land because we were hearing talk. Then the surveyors appeared and Pooloon stopped everybody from planting," one farmer turned taxi driver said. Shortly after the farmers were stopped, some people were seen still cultivating the area. One of them said: "They not building anything here yet, why let the land waste!" When contacted at his home on Riverside Road in Curepe, Pooloon said he did not want to talk to TnT Mirror and his sister; who incidentally owns a well-established cleaning business in this country, wouldn't be talking also. However, he did mention that the land was sold but did not disclose the identity of the new owner. When questioned further, he said that his lawyer is handling everything and he had no more to say." Meanwhile, some farmers have gone back to the fertile land with the hope that Pooloon will give them a chance to finish their crop. Mirror tried, unsuccessfully, on several occasions to contact Health Minister John Rahael to find out if he had, in fact, bought the land or if it was sheer "ole" talk and speculation. He was not available for comment at the tea break in Parliament to shed some light on the matter. So the question is still unanswered and it leaves the residents of Maracas Valley to speculate on the identity of the new land developer. Councillor for the area, Chrysantha Joseph, should also be interested, because of her supposed concern for the environment. With the intended construction on that hill, there is the real possibility of more erosion and flooding.