DENPASAR ~ The Denpasar District Attorney’s Office is investigating the mark up in the price of land at Plaga Village in the Petang area of northern Badung.

The unexplained price hike was revealed through an audit of projects in Badung Regency.

A team has been to the area to collect data and is working intensively to process the information, said spokesman Ridwan Kadir.

In one case the price of a piece of flat land had escalated to Rp1.06 billion (US$106,000), he said.

There had been interest in the land, which was owned by local villagers, for both agricultural use and for a school. It is understood the government was prepared to compensate a village to buy the land.

The Badung government is reported to be buying another piece of land in the area for Rp15 million (US$1,500) when the Plaga village chief says it is worth only Rp 5-6 million (US$500-600).

As well as drawing attention to the rise in land prices in the area, the audit revealed property tax irregularities in Badung totalling Rp7.4 billion (US$740,000) and administration irregularities of Rp2.41 billion (US$241,000).