Violent land disputes are causing delays in the building of the Pan Borneo Highway, reported The Borneo Post.
One sub-contractor, who wanted to be known as Lim, fears that a portion of the major road project assigned to him would not be completed on time. His firm was hired to construct a two-km stretch from KM597.6 to KM599.6 of Batang Buluh-Batang Balingian Road.
Construction started last December and is targeted for completion by June 2017, but work has slowed down after two of his excavators were allegedly set on fire by someone claiming to be a land owner.
“On April 22, I found six laminated notices hanging along the 300-metre stretch of the project saying: The contractor is prohibited from trespassing. Contact Sylvester Igak,” who contends that the highway will pass through his land.
“In December last year, two of my excavators were burned due to this land-related issue. That incident alone has already caused delay to the project. Now, the latest incident is causing further delay. Sylvester has even made a police report against me for trespassing,” noted Lim.
But when he checked the records of the Land and Survey Department, Igak is not included in the list of landowners who needs to compensated for their land.
“The land he claimed is actually a government road reserve,” Lim said, adding that he has reported Igak to the police.
Meanwhile, a resident of Mile 5 ½ at Jalan KJD in Bintangor submitted a police report on Tuesday (25 April), after workers demolished the garage in the front of his house along with the concrete and steel fence without his consent.
The owner of the house, 58-year-old Paran Jambai, said he and his siblings have objected to the use of a portion of their land for the Pan Borneo Highway in a letter submitted to the authorities last February.
He explained that his house is just 10 feet from the highway, meaning they would be inconvenienced by the construction. Without the fence, burglars can also easily get in, likewise for floodwater and landslide.
While the authorities offered RM14,707 as compensation for the demolished fence and garage, as well as RM1,578.84 for the 451.1 sq m land, the siblings have refused the payment for the land as each of them would only get RM263.14.
They have also suggested to the government to use the nearby vacant plots instead of going through the front of the house. But if the authorities don’t change its mind, the siblings are demanding a higher land compensation.
Image sourced from Borneo Post
Radin Ghazali, Content Writer at PropertyGuru, edited this story. To contact her about this or other stories email radin@propertyguru.com.my
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