Mon State government Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Communications and Transport Tun Htay said that his government would scrutinize again the vacant, virgin and fallow lands in Mon State leased by successive governments by filing applications to them but they were not being used.

“Regarding this matter, Vacant, Fallow and Virgin Lands Management Committee has already collected all precise data of lands being unused. They retook some of these unused land plots in the meantime. So we will continue this work of verifying and scrutinizing all land got from government by applications and we will retake all these unused land plots by all means and by cooperation with any organization,” the minister Tun Htay said.

The minister said this sin reply to a question raised on how the government was functioning in leasing of vacant, fallow and virgin lands in Mon State by legislator Dr. Aung Naing Oo from Chaungsone constituency (1) at the 15th assembly session this week in the Mon State legislative assembly.

Mon State assembly legislator Dr. Aung Naing Oo from Chaungsone constituency (1) said that the local people did not know the procedures for applying for these vacant, fallow and virgin lands from government though they were currently working on these land plots. Problems were caused for local people by those who understood the laws and applied causing a disadvantage to those working the land.

In reply to this question, Minister Tun Htay said, “Our Mon State government did not give priority to any individual or any organization in giving vacant, fallow and virgin lands but considered only the development of the local area, creating job opportunities and sustainable village-level investments which will not undermine the public interest.”

“Moreover, in some places, some of these lands annually face river floods and there will be difficulties in working on these land plots so that we wish only those who can afford the required investment and have the technical knowhow to work on this land,” he added.

Mon State government has already given a lease grant for over 24,000 acres of vacant, fallow and virgin land and the government has seized over 3,800 acres of this unused land in 2018.