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Rio mayor hits out at Olympic golf course critics

Xinhua, March 26, 2015 Adjust font size:

Rio de Janeiro mayor Eduardo Paes described environmental concerns about the city's Olympic golf course as "hogwash" during an unveiling of the controversial project on Wednesday.

The course, which is being built alongside a nature reserve, has been the center of legal disputes over alleged irregularities and protests from environmentalists.

Public prosecutors claim the course's environmental permit was incorrectly approved and allege that Fiori Empreendimentos was favored in the bidding process to develop the project.

In another suit, the government has been accused of building the course on land it does not own.

During a two-hour presentation to journalists, Paes vehemently denied any wrongdoing.

"The public ministry (prosecutor's office) has the right to investigate but it's not the lord of truth," Paes said.

"There has been no damage to the environment and we have not broken the law".

Construction of the course is almost complete after more than a year of construction work.

Rio 2016 will mark the return of golf to the Olympic program for the first time since the St. Louis Games of 1904. Endi