Solve land dispute over Mrica power plant

The Central Java administration has called on the minister of mines and energy to quickly solve the compensation disputes for lands that would be used as the location for the Mrica water-powered power plant in Banjarnegara district, Central Java, as local people had given a deadline until September for the government to solve the problems.

Central Java deputy governor for government affairs Achmad said the minister of mines and energy told local people on May 6, 1999, that he would coordinate with the state minister of investment and state enterprises development and the minister of law and legislation to solve the problems.

Achmad said in his letter addressed to the minister of mines and energy, dated August 8, 2000: "We want to know the result of the coordination efforts with the two ministers to help solve the yet unresolved land compensation problems."

According to Achmad, compensation demands by 39 local people whose lands would be affected by the power plant project had often been discussed at the regency and provincial level, but there was no solution in sight yet.

Meanwhile, the secretary of the Central Java legislative council's Commission D that overseas development affairs, Ali Mansyur, called on state electricity company PT PLN to quickly compensate the local people because the problem had been on the surface since 1980s.

"The council will soon summon PLN to find the right policy because people whose lands are affected by the Mrica power plant are not patient anymore," he said. (*)