Not all squatters in Thilawa zone to receive compensation
Play
Myanmar authorities will offer compensation only to those squatters who have been living at Thilawa Special Economic Zone, said Sett Aung, deputy minister for national planning and economic development.
The method that will be used to decide how much the squatters should get has yet to be decided, the minister said.
Thilawa Special Economic Zone is a joint project between Myanmar and Japan, and is located in suburban Yangon.
“In developing Thilawa Special Economic Zone, the issue of squatters is quite difficult to solve. There are those who have lived here for a long time. They deserve the compensation. But some arrived here when the zone project started. Some who had sold their land came back again and set up tents. These issues are difficult to handle. I say ‘difficult’ because we don’t want to cause loss to those who really deserve the compensation,” Sett Aung said.
Yangon’s regional government is mainly responsible for the issue of squatters in Thilawa.
However, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and Thilawa Economic Zone Committee have offered advice and technical assistance to sort out the current issues.
“Now we are taking records. There are several problems. For instance, those who are entitled to compensation have asked for it, but those who set up tents also came and asked for compensation. Some businessmen in the hotel trade bought land there. JICA is also getting a headache. As the land prices rise, some people without land ownership have come here,” Sett Aung said.
Besides the squatters, residents of two villages – Ayemyathida and Shwepyitharyar – were relocated to the zone by the government. The villagers are entitled to compensation but have not received it yet. These various issues will need to be handled differently, the minister said.
Internationally, it standard practice that governments to not pay compensation for confiscated land at market price; they calculate it based on the average price in the three previous years, he added.
He gave the example of India, which offers land compensation at a three-year average price plus 10 per cent.
“Some who are not entitled to land want to make millions. They should look at both sides. Those who deserve the compensation should get it,” Sett Aung said.
