THE Provincial Board of Negros Occidental approved Wednesday the reclassification of an agricultural land into industrial zone in Hinoba-an town.
The resolution of the municipal government had been pending at the Provincial Board, and it was only Wednesday that it concurred with the measure during the regular session.
Part of the reclassified land was the property acquired by the Provincial Government in Hinoba-an town for the proposed industrial zone supposedly covered by the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program.
Fifth District Board Member Alain Gatuslao, chairman of committee on laws, said after a comprehensive research, they realized that reclassification is different from conversion and actual use.
Once the property is reclassified into industrial zone, the Capitol will present it to the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) for conversion, he said.
“We will go to the DAR and ask the requirements for conversion. It’s not between Hinoba-an and DAR, but between the province and DAR,” he said.
He said the provincial government had already allocated P20 million for the affected residents.
Provincial Agrarian Reform Program Officer II Lucrecia Taberna had earlier confirmed that the property has Carp coverage.
The provincial government had expropriated the property of the defunct Insular Lumber Company to make way for the construction of the Japanese shipbuilding facility.
Some sectors are opposing the project, as they insisted it will affect the residents and the environment.