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)