Status of land project questioned

MANOKWARI, Irian Jaya: Transmigrants from the Prafi district are demanding that authorities investigate what they say are irregularities in the development of 2,155 hectares of agricultural land.

Work on the Rp 2.3 billion (US$980,000) project allegedly has been abandoned by the contractors, Firma Bintang Harapan and PT KIR, and there is no sign the work will resume, Antara reported.

The transmigrants said they filed their complaint with the Vice President in 1994 via PO Box 5000, an address specially set up for complaints of corruption.

But, said one farmer, "the governor hasn't done anything to follow up on the Vice President's order to solve the problem."

Some of the farmers have asked the local prosecutor's office to investigate the case, he said.

The president director of Firma Bintang Harapan, Steven Wijaya, denied that his company had abandoned the project, saying that he had transferred the project to the government.

"The (government's) supervisor of the project has signed the transfer document. How can they (the farmers) claim that the project has been abandoned?" he asked. (pan)