Jakarta – A total of 321.07 hectares of mining land operating without official forest area use permits has been taken over by the state as part of law enforcement in the mining sector, the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (MEMR) announced on Monday, September 15.
“This step confirms that the government will not tolerate illegal mining practices that disregard regulations. In accordance with the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources’ directive, supervision and enforcement will continue to be strengthened,” said Rilke Jeffri Huwae, MEMR Director General of Law Enforcement.
The operation found two large companies in violation of their permits. A total of 148.25 hectares of land was returned in the PT Weda Bay Nickel area in North Maluku, while another 172.82 hectares belonged to PT Tonia Mitra Sejahtera in Southeast Sulawesi.
“They do have mining permits, but they don’t have permits to use forest areas. This legal loophole clearly violates the rules and cannot be tolerated,” said Jeffri.
In addition to enforcement, the government said the importance of implementing Good Mining Practices (GMP), a mining concept that focuses on legal compliance, sustainability, and environmental responsibility.
“The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources is committed to continuing to collaborate with various parties in every step of supervision and enforcement. The Forest Area Control Task Force (Satgas PKH Halilintar) is at the forefront of ensuring that regulations are enforced,” added Jeffri.
The role of the Halilintar Task Force
As part of the Halilintar PKH Task Force, the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources has a strategic position in cracking down on illegal mining. The Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources sits on the Steering Committee alongside several other ministers, the Commander of the Indonesian National Armed Forces, the Attorney General, the Chief of Police, and the Head of the Financial and Development Supervisory Agency.
Meanwhile, in the field, technical roles are carried out directly by the Director General of Law Enforcement at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources and the Director General of Mineral and Coal. The presence of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources in this structure ensures that legal and energy governance aspects are in line with the mission of controlling forest areas.
According to Jeffri, decisive actions such as this are expected to have a deterrent effect while also demonstrating that the state is serious about enforcing the law in the energy and mining sectors.
“Our top priority is to ensure that natural resources are managed in a fair, sustainable, and regulatory manner. There will be no compromise for violations that harm the country or the environment,” she said. (Hartatik)
Banner photo: Image generated by OpenAI’s DALL·E via ChatGPT (2023)
