KAPIT: Eighty-three native customary rights (NCR) owners of land from Sipan/Sesawa in Song district received their individual land title issued by Land and Survey Department recently.
A total of 137 individual titles to lands covering a total area of 358.4 hectares surveyed under Section 18 of the Sarawak Land Code were issued to the 83 landowners.
State assemblyman for Katibas Datuk Ambrose Blikau Enturan officiated at the function organised by the Land and Survey Department Kapit.
Speaking at the function Blikau commended the landowners who had co-operated with the authorities in getting their lands surveyed to facilitate the issuance of title to their properties.
He assured that the GPS state government recognised the rights of NCR landowners. He said perimeter survey under Section 6 of the land code was an on-going programme which would be followed by
individual land title survey under Section 18.
He noted that statistics from the Land and Survey Department showed a total of 240, 744 individual land titles involving 314, 652 hectares
throughout the state had been issued to date.
“The survey is free of charge (expenses are borne by the
government) and the land lease is in perpetuity (permanent title). The land title resolves the ownership and nobody else can claim any rights to the land apart from the rightful owner
registered in the Land Title,” said Blikau.
Meanwhile the superintendent Land and Survey Department Kapit, Sagu Unting urged NCR landowners to co-operate among themselves in resolving their boundary disputes and to work closely with the department in the surveying process.
A representative of the recipients, Robertson Mawa thanked the state government for recognising their rights to their NCR lands as evidenced by the issuance of the land titles.
