28 February
Myanmar is an agro-based country, so farmers play a vital role in the agriculture sector of the country.
The Union Government is committed to solving the issue of confiscated farmlands, in accordance with the law.
So far, 7,119 complaints have been received by the Central Committee, while only 3,168 have been resolved. More emphasis must be placed on resolving the remaining 3,951 complaints.
Meanwhile, to speed up resolving land matters that reflect upon the image of the country, the Office of the President reorganized the Central Committee for Scrutinizing Confiscated Farmlands and Other Lands by issuing notification 21/2019 dated 5 February.
All levels of the committees for scrutinizing confiscated farmlands and other lands were to effectively handle complaints on land matters, in accordance with the policies and work processes.
It was determined that some region and state authorities did not follow the central committee’s policy and work processes, and they also submitted inadequate records to the central committee, resulting in delays in the process.
There have been some weaknesses in the review and assessments of complaints and delays in the return of confiscated land to the original owners.
The authorities need to conduct a proper review of confiscated lands for the good of the nation and the public, and follow legal procedures without delay. Only then can confiscated farmlands be swiftly returned to their rightful owners.
Excess and unused lands returned as state-own lands are to be used for the benefit of the people and, if not used, to be kept on record and maintained. Some lands released by the ministerial departments were not received by the former owner due to delays, or it was not clear who the former owner was.
To resolve such cases, committee chairmen are to conduct field visits to ensure there was no discrepancy between the assessment at the grass roots level and the situation on the ground.
Also, not everyone who applies to get land back are the rightful owners.
There are those who applied, even though they have no right to the land, resulting in rightful owners having more problems to solve. To overcome these problems, all need to be truthful.
GNLM
