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Land payments now suspended, homestead program put on hold
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Posted on Mar 16 2006
Gov. Benigno R. Fitial has officially declared a moratorium on land compensation payments and village homestead programs until further notice.
The $28 million that was available for land compensation has now been exhausted, Fitial said, and until new funds can be identified, the Department of Public Lands cannot monetarily compensate the 193 claimants still on file.
“The preliminary balance to satisfy pending settlements is about $80-$100 million, and the DPL is exploring new ways to secure the estimated amount for pending settlements,” Fitial said yesterday, adding that this measure is important to allow the department to find money for this purpose.
“Land claims settlements from the court would require legislative appropriation. This is an issue that is very difficult given the dire financial straits of the local government,” the governor said.
Until further notice, the DPL will only accept and review new land claims, but will not process them.
“The village homestead moratorium has also been issued and the DPL will stop accepting homestead applications beginning April 15, 2006. The DPL has more than 4,000 village applicants to date, and the department needs to assess how much public land is left for homestead purposes,” according to the governor.
The most critical island for a village homestead program is Saipan which has about 3,500 pending applicants. A preliminary cost for homestead development per hectare is about $161,000, while estimated costs for development of infrastructure (including but not limited to water and sewer systems, roads, and power systems) to accommodate existing applicants is around $74-$118 million dollars. (PR)
