Vico has paid compensation: official
Friday, January 19 2001 - 09:30 AM WIB
A district official of the Samboja district, Kutai Kertanegara, East Kalimantan maintained that oil and gas company Vico Indonesia had paid compenstations to locals their land used by the company to build its pipeline.
Syaifuddin, Semboja district secretary, said on Thursday that Vico and state oil and gas company Pertamina had paid compensations to the locals in 1994 under the supervision of the district authorities.
"Thus, if some farmers now demand for compensation, we have to know who the farmers are," he was quoted by Suara Kaltim as saying.
He made the statement following reports that several farmers of the Bukit Raya village demanded compensations for their land which were reportedly crossed by Vico's pipeline and polluted by the company's waste.
Sutarno, one of the farmers, recently demanded compensations from the company, claiming that plants on his one-hectare field had been damaged by the company's waste and the existence of the company's pipeline. (*)