President Joko Widodo’s recent decision to revoke thousands of mining, forestry, and plantation permits proves he has heard and understood people’s grievances, deputy II for human development at the Presidential Staff Office has said.
There has been intense public scrutiny over the lack of transparency, environmental damage, and inequality in natural resource management in the country, Abetnego Tarigan highlighted.
“The President has heard and understood the actual situation; hence, he has decided (to revoke the licenses) and reallocate the resources to achieve better economic advantage and environmental sustainability,” Tarigan said in a press statement released in Jakarta on Friday.
Land tenure and availability are essential for creating a favorable investment climate in Indonesia, and the President’s decision to revoke thousands of concessions and licenses is expected to produce a multiplier effect by freeing lands from misuse, he explained.
“By providing more economic opportunities to farmers, religious institutions, and entrepreneurs who were earlier denied access to land, the livelihood of residents will further improve,” the deputy said.
The President’s decision to revoke 2,078 mining licenses, 192 forestry licenses, and licenses for utilizing 34 thousand hectares of agricultural lands will boost the government’s agrarian reform and social forestry mission, the KSP official added.
The government had also redistributed more than one million hectares of neglected lands, lands vacated by revocation of land titles, and other state-owned lands, as well as more than 4.7 million hectares of forests to more than one million households nationwide that contribute to managing the land, Tarigan expounded.
“The Presidential Staff Office will continue monitoring the handling of neglected lands and lands implicated in agrarian conflicts to ensure those lands will boost equitable national development,” the KSP deputy stated.
Source: Antara News