‘Establishing land committees can expedite perimeter surveys’

LAND claimants should establish land committees to speed up perimeter survey coverage, said Datuk Len Talif Salleh.

The Deputy Minister for Natural Resources and Urban Development stressed claimants must be prepared to have their land surveyed and boundaries identified to ensure the efficient processing and implementation of Native Customary Rights (NCR).

“Land claimants also need to ensure that the land they are claiming is free from disputes and be present during field surveys.

“The establishment of land committees among land claimants is highly encouraged to assist in preparatory work before, during, and after surveys are conducted,” Len said in response to a question from Billy Sujang (GPS-Opar) during question time at the sitting yesterday.

Billy had asked about plans to expedite perimeter surveys to achieve 100 per cent coverage of NCR land surveys under Section 6 and Section 18 of the Sarawak Land Code.

In response, Len also said as of March 31 this year, 29 areas covering approximately 14,662 hectares (ha) of land had been approved for perimeter surveys under phase one of the NCR Land New Initiative survey programme for Opar constituency.

From that figure, 23 areas covering 11,271ha have been surveyed, two areas covering 1,203ha are currently being surveyed, while four more areas involving 1,998ha will be surveyed soon.

Through the second phase of the programme, seven areas had been approved for individual lot surveys.

One area covering approximately 159ha has been surveyed, five other areas covering 3,416ha are currently being surveyed, while another 2,058ha has already been surveyed involving 2,048 lots.

One more area covering approximately 271ha is ready to be surveyed subject to the readiness of land claimants.

Under the traditional village surveys, 35 villages have submitted applications for surveys and the issuance of land titles under Section 18 of the Sarawak Land Code.

Of that total, seven villages have been approved, with two already surveyed and five more to commence surveying.

Applications for the remaining 28 villages are in various stages of review.

“For any other villages not yet included in the survey programme, village chiefs and community leaders can submit their applications to the Land and Survey Department Kuching Division,” Len Talif added.