SARATOK: Minister of Plantation Industries and Commodities Dato Sri Douglas Uggah Embass said yesterday that to date, some 525, 000 hectares of Native customary Rights (NCR) land has been surveyed in the state.

This means they are recognised as NCR land. Out of these, 181,000 hectares have been gazetted.

“For next year, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has allocated another RM30 million for the next round of the Perimeter Survey Programme,” he told Bernama after officiating at the delegates conference of the Krian Division Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) at the community hail here, yesterday.

Uggah said the government recognised the Perimeter Survey Programme as an effective means to decide between state and NCR land.

Uggah, who is also senior vice- president of PBB, said despite all the explanations given, there were always peopIe out to give negative opinions about the programme.

“It is definitely not a mechanism for the government to grab land belonging to the people. Until and when a concrete decision can be made (deciding between state and NCR land), there will always be issues.”

Uggah said a meeting would be held with the state Land and Survey Department today to know the rough size of NCR land as some had been developed under the New Economic NCR Land Development Scheme like in Betong and Kanowit.

“Once we know the size, we can set a deadline for the survey to be carried out because the government wants to develop such land as soon as possible in its endeavour to eradicate poverty,’ he said.

Meanwhile, he said the government’s target to develop some 30,000 hectares for oil palm cultivation in the state this year was not achieved.

This is because some of the areas included in the plan happened to be disputed areas and not certified as NCR land. But we managed to resolve the matter recently and by next month the government assistance programme to plant oil palm on these lands will begin,” he said.

(Source:  Sarawak Tribune, 19 August 2013)