Row over state land continues

 By CLEMENT KAUPA

A LIFE was lost last year but the conflict over a piece of state land on the Madang Highway between Ramu Sugar and Walium station continues.

In March last year, a Southern Highlands man died at the Assas market in Kesewai following a confrontation with three brothers from Chimbu who accused him of assaulting their father.

The murder case was however dismissed in the Madang court, allegedly for the non-attendance of the dead man’s relatives.   

In relation to the same case, a man travelling with a police escort from Ramu Sugar was threatened by knife-wielding men and prevented from serving an eviction notice at Kesewai last week.

“Even the policemen were sworn at and threatened with bush knives,” Jeffrey Vaki said. 

Vaki is a son of the early settlers on the block who claim to be the legitimate titleholders.

On Monday, Vaki produced a Lands Department title issued in 2011 which identified the land as portion 48, covering sections of Sanapa-Hupai-4- Mile at Kesewai in Madang.

According to the title, portion 48 is made up of a total area of about 285 hectares of forest land classified as state-owned. 

The title gives Vaki  a 99-year state lease on the land but has been the subject of an ongoing conflict, he said.

According to Vaki, portion 48 is next to the encroaching Ramu Sugar agri-industries (RAIL) freehold village oil palm scheme. He has already approached RAIL to be included in the scheme. 

Vaki said there were two families squatting on the land who had refused to move after the eviction notice was served.

“They are demanding that I pay a compensation of K200,000 for the death of the Southern Highlands man before they move,” he said.

“But I am not the one who caused his death or associated in any way with the matter. 

“They have until May 19 to move and if they don’t, then they will have to face a forced eviction.”