U Htay Lwin the monitoring engineer from the Mawlamyine Gas Pipeline and Preservation Department of MOGE and over 20 rubber plantation owners who were affected by the gas pipeline held negotiations at the at Kyar-Kan ward administration office in Thanbyuzayat Township at 4 pm on 12th November.

Ko Myo Aung, a rubber grower, is resentful that he has lost rubber trees because of the pipeline project. He told IMNA: “They chopped down the rubber trees without informing the owners. We are not satisfied with that and we want fair compensation.”

Daw Phwar Aye, another rubber grower, said local rubber plantation owners were dissatisfied with the compensation of 70,000 kyats per rubber tree offered by MOGE. They want to be paid the market rate of 200,000 kyats per tree.

She said that if the plantation owners do not get the proper compensation they will not allow MOGE to lay the gas pipeline through their rubber plantations.

U Htay Lwin from MOGE said that he will report back to his managers and they will then do their best to come up with a proposal that he hopes will be agreeable to the rubber growers.

Naing Thein Aung, the People’s Parliament member for Thanbyuzayat Township also attended the negotiations. He said that on top of paying a compensation price for each tree destroyed MOGE would also have to pay the rubber growers compensation for the money they spent raising the trees and future income they would have made from the trees.

The gas pipeline already runs from Kan-Pauk in Yebyu Township, Tanintharyi Region to Myaing-Ka-Lay in Karen state. MOGE are replacing several sections of the pipeline, including the section running through Wel-Khru Village-Tract and Chan-Ta-Yar Land.

Translated by Aung Myat Soe English version written by Mark Inkey for BNI