KUCHING, March 31 (Bernama) -- The Sarawak government is expected to collect RM1.9 million in revenue this year following the implementation of the annual assessment rate on oil palm plantations, State Environment and Public Health Minister Datuk Michael Manyin said Friday.

He said a total acreage of 322,257 hectares, including 190 oil palm plantations such the Sarawak Land Consolidation and Rehabilitation Authority (Salcra) and Federal Land Development Authority (Felda) and individual Native Customary Rights (NCR) landowners, would be subjected to the annual levy.

"The purpose of charging the annual payment, which came into force on January 1 this year, is to defray cost of services being provided by the local councils, including scavenging, road maintenance and other facilities such as markets that are enjoyed by the plantations," he told a press conference here.

Under the Local Authorities (Annual Payment in Lieu of Rates) Order 2006, all land exceeding 20 hectares in area used for oil palm plantations would be subjected to an annual assessment rate of RM5 per hectare annually.

Manyin said plantation owners were required to fill the statutory declaration forms, obtainable from the respective local councils, to allow land owners or developers to claim exemption for trees that are less than three years old.

The rationale was because oil palm trees that were less than three years did not produce any fruit bunches that could be harvested, he explained.

On the assessment of poultry and pig farms in Sarawak, Manyin said the exemption had been lifted effective January 1 this year as the threat from diseases such as Japanese Encephalitis (JE) was no longer present.

-- BERNAMA