Land dispute in Lampung

Land dispute in Lampung

BANDAR LAMPUNG, Lampung: The National Commission on Human Rights urged a local company yesterday to resolve a conflict over land acquisition with local residents.

Officials of PT Kapuan Kencana Sejahtera and two members of the commission, Albert Hasibuan and Maj. Gen. (ret) Soegiri, met to discuss ways to end the conflict.

The company intends to acquire 23,900 hectares of land to develop brackish fishponds in the Menggala subdistrict near here.

The conflict began last year when the company claimed ownership of the land even though the firm and the farmers had not yet agreed on compensation.

The company is offering Rp 650,000 (about US$300) for each hectare of land, while the farmers are asking for Rp 1 million, Antara reported.

Albert and Soegiri asked PT Kapuan Kencana Sejahtera to pay for the land as soon as the level of compensation had been agreed upon.(pan)