LAWAS: Thirty-three persons received compensations totalling RM6,137,317.80 for their lands affected by the redevelopment of Kampung Datu here.
They received the compensation cheques from Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan at a ceremony held at Dewan Masyarakat Sundar here.
When presenting the cheques, he said the compensations were proofs that the state government “did not rob the people of their land”.
“We pay the land owners fair and reasonable compensations for their lands in accordance with the existing provisions under Chapter 81 of the State Land Code and Article 13 of the Federal Constitution,” he said.
Awang Tengah, who is also Industrial and Entrepreneur Development Minister, said in fact not a single person in the state had been deprived of ownership of their properties except by law.
“There is no provision in the law to acquire properties by force without a reasonable compensation,” he said.
The deputy chief minister said a total of RM333.42 million had been approved under the 11th malaysia Plan to provide infrastructure for 40 Village Expansion and Resettlement Schemes throughout the state. Kampung Datu is one of the villages.
The state government implemented the village expansion scheme to help reduce overcrowinding in existing villages due to increase in population over the years.
Under the expansion project, apart from individual lots for housing needs, there would also be provisions for basic amenities such as roads, drains, water and electricty supplies.
On the resettlement schemes, Awang Tengah said it was implemented with the objectives of providing residential lots equipped with basic amenities to resettle mainly squatters and to fulfil the housing needs of the landless low income group.
Earlier, Awang Tengah presented temporary occupation licences (TOLs) to 92 recipients for the Kuala Lawas Village Expansion project.
