Indonesia Moves to Revoke Land Rights of Companies Linked to Forest Fires

JAKARTA, HOLOPIS.COM – Indonesia’s Minister of Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning and Head of the National Land Agency (ATR/BPN), Nusron Wahid, has revealed that 11 companies holding land-use rights have been recommended for revocation by the National Police’s Criminal Investigation Department (Bareskrim).

The recommendations follow investigations into land fire cases and alleged violations of companies’ obligations to prevent and mitigate fires.

Nusron explained that eight of the 11 companies have been placed in categories for further action, including the revocation of all or part of their land-use rights, state takeover of their land, or evaluation of their plantation business permits.

“There are 11 companies holding land-use rights that the Head of Bareskrim has recommended for revocation,” Nusron said, Holopis.com reported, Monday (9/11).

The 11 companies identified by Nusron are:

1. PT MIB in Banjar Regency, South Kalimantan;
2. PT RKA in Melawi Regency, West Kalimantan;
3. PT SKM in Ketapang Regency, West Kalimantan;
4. PT SAE in Landak Regency, West Kalimantan;
5. PT BSLT in Kubu Raya Regency, West Kalimantan;
6. PT BOS in Kapuas Hulu Regency, West Kalimantan;
7. PT AEL in Ketapang Regency, West Kalimantan;
8. PT JMS in Kutai Kartanegara Regency, East Kalimantan;
9. PT STP in Kutai Kartanegara Regency, East Kalimantan;
10. PT ANI in Landak Regency, West Kalimantan; and
11. PT API in Ketapang Regency, West Kalimantan.

Nusron also said that an investigation into the companies’ beneficial ownership structures found that some had investors or shareholders from South Korea, Malaysia and Singapore. Several domestic shareholders were also identified, although their identities could not yet be disclosed to the public.

Three Companies to Lose All Land-Use Rights

Under the first category, the government plans to revoke all land-use rights held by three companies: PT MIB, PT RKA and PT SKM. PT MIB holds 4,000 hectares of land. Nusron said the decision to revoke all its land-use rights was based on fires affecting more than 50% of its concession area, repeated fire incidents, and the absence of adequate facilities and infrastructure to prevent or mitigate fires.

These conditions were considered violations of the provisions stipulated in the original land-rights approval decree, which the company was required to comply with. PT RKA holds 11,558 hectares of land. Meanwhile, PT SKM has two land parcels measuring 5,355 hectares and 2,360.81 hectares, respectively. Both companies are also included in the plan to revoke all their land-use rights.

Expired Land Rights and Plantation Permits Under Review

In the second category, Nusron identified PT BSLT, which holds 2,300 hectares of land. The company’s land-use rights expired in 2020, meaning the land will be taken over by the state.

The third category covers companies that already hold Plantation Business Permits (IUP) but have not yet obtained land-use rights. The government has confirmed that no land-use rights will be issued to these companies.

Nusron identified the companies in this category as PT ANI, covering 5,244 hectares; PT BOS, covering 4,750 hectares; and another company he referred to as PT AIR, covering 5,134 hectares.

The plantation business permits held by these companies will also be evaluated. The process will involve the Minister of Home Affairs, regional governments and the Directorate General of Plantations at the Ministry of Agriculture.

Nusron said the evaluation would consider several factors, including repeated fire incidents, inadequate fire prevention and mitigation facilities, and companies that had remained inactive despite holding plantation business permits.

Partial Revocation for One Company, Three Others Under Review

Under the fourth category, the government plans to partially revoke the land-use rights held by PT SAE in Landak Regency, West Kalimantan, covering 1,510 hectares. The revocation will not cover the entire area because fires affected less than 50% of the company’s land.

Meanwhile, three other companies, PT STP, PT API and PT JMS, are still undergoing further assessment. The government is conducting physical inspections, land measurements and data verification to determine whether their land-use rights should be revoked entirely or partially.

Of the 11 companies recommended for action, the government has therefore assigned eight to specific enforcement categories, while the remaining three are awaiting the results of further assessments and field inspections.

“We are conducting further assessments to determine whether the revocation should cover all or only part of the land. Physical inspections are underway, along with measurements and verification of the available data,” Nusron explained.