District authorities issued land titles to another 46 families living in Village 22 around Boeung Kak lake in Phnom Penh yesterday, although some residents still feared eviction as the 12.44 hectares of land designated for them by the government was not clearly marked, a village representative said.

Tep Vanny, who received a land title yesterday, said 73 of the 194 families in Village 22 in Daun Penh district’s Srah Chak commune had received land titles in the past week.

Twenty-eight families had been told previously that they would not receive a title because their homes were not within the 12.44 hectares.

“We are happy, but we are not sure whether we all can avoid eviction a second time if the 12.44 hectares of land is not clearly marked,” she said.

The families also want the government to build a drainage system and issue titles to families cut from the 12.44-hectare area.

Resident Bou Chhorvy, 38, said she had waited five years to receive a land title.

“However, we’re still all worried because we do not have a drainage system around our houses and the Boeung Kak area floods when it rains heavily,” she said.

In Saophorn, deputy chief of Srah Chak commune, said one land title had been withheld yesterday because the family members involved were in dispute.

“In this case, we will provide the land title to either the husband or wife, based on who the court judges as the correct recipient. We have no right to make this decision,” she said.