Mandalay land concession holders ordered to report to government

Businesspeople granted land concessions in Mandalay Region have been given until November 4 to submit a report on the status of the land holdings to the regional Settlements and Land Records Department.

Regional minister for agriculture and livestock U Myint Than told concession holders at a meeting on October 29 that the government wanted to cooperate to ensure land is used properly but also warned them that it would consider taking back land that has not been used.

“We believe that those businesspeople who were awarded permits for land are good partners for the development of the agriculture and livestock sector,” U Myint Than said.

“We firstly considered taking action against those who are not in line with the law but … We decided to focus on trying to make these project’s successful instead,” he said. “We will check if the reason [for not developing the land] is strong. But don’t think we will never take action.”

Those who received concessions from the Vacant, Fallow and Virgin Lands Management Committee, local authorities and government departments must submit a report on how the land is being used no later than November 4, he said. If entrepreneurs don’t submit a report, the government will deem them to have failed to implement their stated project.

Under section 22(c ) of the Vacant, Fallow and Virgin Lands Management Law, the state can take back land not used for its stated purpose at the end of the allowed period.

U Hlwan Moe, secretary of Vacant, Fallow and Virgin Lands Management Committee, said it had granted work permits to 193 entrepreneurs for more than 50,000 acres. The land is being used for agriculture, livestock breeding, mining and other businesses.

Entrepreneurs who attended the meeting outlined their difficulties in implementing projects on lands granted by the committee, including conflicts with local farmers.

“The region government will present the complaints of the entrepreneurs to the chief minister of Mandalay Region,” U Myint Than said. “We will try to settle them quickly.”

source: The Myanmar Times
http://www.mmtimes.com/index.php/national-news/mandalay-upper-myanmar/8680-mandalay-land-concession-holders-ordered-to-report-to-government.html