SIMBU provincial administration would fully support any investigation into the bogus compensation claims involving villagers and government officials.
Provincial administrator Joe Bal said yesterday that corrupt government officials and villagers who conspired and obtained K34 million from the State must face the full force of the law.
The money was paid out from the Highlands Highway rehabilitation programme funds to the villagers living along the road from the border of Simbu and Eastern Highlands province to the border of Simbu and Western Highlands province.
It was for them to vacate their land for major road upgrading.
The payments were made between 2006 and this year, the highest amount being K1.5 million paid out to a claimant in 2006.
Mr Bal said that a full-scale investigation must be conducted into the matter and those corrupt government officials and villagers be brought to justice.
He said he would give his full support when the investigation starts.
He said Government officers should not be involved in such illegal deals like stealing from their employers.
Works Secretary Joel Luma said allegations of Works and Transport Department officers collaborating with local landowners to defraud the State have to be established and offenders prosecuted.
Mr Luma said yesterday if dubious people are at work within the department they need to be brought to justice.
Meanwhile, a villager who is aware of what went on said that such practices became rampant when the road rehabilitation project was initiated.
He said even those people who were not landowners were submitting claims by bribing the senior evaluators and other officials to facilitate the claims.