Farmers of lands confiscated for dam in Manaung Twsp yet to receive compensation

By DMG 27 Dec 2021

DMG Newsroom
27 December 2021, Manaung 

Local farmers in Arakan State’s Manaung Township whose lands were confiscated during the construction of a dam in 2020 have yet to receive compensation. 

Nearly 53 acres of land owned by 18 farmers — nine of whom had land-use rights — were included in the area demarcated for the dam, which is to supply drinking water for nearby Pyin Kauk village. 

In early 2021, township administrator U Kyan Aye said the local government had submitted a proposal to the Arakan State government to provide compensation to those whose farmlands were confiscated in the construction of the dam. However, farmers say there has been little indication of progress on the compensation issue as the year draws to a close. 

“We have not been paid compensation yet,” said U Phoe Yi, a local farmer who had more than four acres of his farmland confiscated for the dam project. “We have no jobs now and our business is not good. We were farmers, but now we have no farmland. I want the government to pay farmland compensation to the farmers.” 

U Tin Nu Aung, a former Lower House lawmaker for Manaung Township, had promised local farmers that compensation would be paid for the land involved in the dam’s construction, but that pledge was made when he was an office holder. At that time, the ex-legislator said the proposal was submitted to the parliament and that compensation would be paid in 2020. 

There is little hope that Myanmar’s junta government, grappling with armed uprisings across much of the country and struggling to fulfill basic functions of governance, will prove any more successful than its predecessor in addressing the Pyin Kauk compensation issue. 

Ko Tin Maung Htwe, a local, said he wanted the affected farmers to be compensated as soon as possible so that they could earn a living. 

“There have been no local authorities’ comments on land issues. Farmers have not farmed for two years. That is why I want the government to pay compensation as soon as possible,” he added. 

The Pyin Kauk dam was built by the Irrigation and Water Utilization Management Department at an estimated cost of K120 million. The dam measures 345 feet long, 40 feet high and 20 feet wide. 

Pyin Kauk villagers, however, say that the dam has not supplied water to the village. Of four dams in Manaung Township, the Kyet Taung and Pyin Kauk dams have yet to supply water to their namesake villages as planned, according to residents.