Jokowi Revokes Over 2,000 Coal Mining Permits

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com – President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo said Thursday that the government has revoked the coal mining permits of more than 2,000 companies for failing to provide work plans.

“First of all, 2,078 permits of coal mining companies have been revoked because they have never submitted their work plans,” President Jokowi said in a televised message on Thursday, Jan. 6.

The permits have been issued to thousands of companies for years but no projects have been done and that holds back the use of natural resources for the welfare of the people,” he said.

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Besides, the President said that the government also canceled 192 permits in the forestry business sector covering 3.1 million hectares of land. “Their permits have been revoked because the businesses were inactive, they failed to produce work plans and [the lands] were abandoned.”

The government also revoked the land-cultivation permits or known by the Indonesian acronym HGU comprising 34,448 hectares. Of this total area, 25,128 hectares are under 12 legal entities, while the other 9,320 hectares are part of abandoned HGU under 24 other legal entities.

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Jokowi added that the government continues to improve transparency in the country’s natural resources sector for the benefit of the people and disaster prevention.

“Mining, plantation, and forest-use permits will continue to be evaluated thoroughly,” said Jokowi.

“We will revoke permits that are not utilized, unproductive, or transferred to other parties for different purposes.”

(Writer: Dian Erika Nugraheny | Editor: Diamanty Meiliana)

Source: https://nasional.kompas.com/read/2022/01/06/14021811/jokowi-cabut-izin-2078-perusahaan-tambang-minerba-dan-hgu-perkebunan-seluas?page=all#page2.