Govt Records Only 8,959 Cases of Land Disputes
ATR Minister / Head of BPN Sofyan Djalil is engaged in a dialog with his officials before attending a Limited Cabinet Meeting at the Presidential Office, Jakarta, Friday (3/5). (Photo by: Rahmat / PR)
As many as 8,959 cases of land disputes have been reported across Indonesia, some of them have been resolved and some others have not, Minister of Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning (ATR)/Head of the National Land Agency (BPN) Sofyan Djalil has said.
“Out of 8,959 cases of land dispute, 56 percent of them are among the people, neighbors, or border disputes. Around 15% of the cases occur between the people and legal entities, individual landowners and legal entities, Limited Liability Company, Cultivation Rights Title (HGU), and state-owned Enterprises (BUMN),” the Minister told journalists after attending a Limited Cabinet Meeting, at the Presidential Office in Jakarta, Friday (3/5).
Sofyan went on to say that the cases among legal entities are easier to resolve because they will appeal the issues to the Supreme Court if mediating mechanism does not work. He added that land disputes also occur between people and the Government such as the Indonesian National Defense Forces (TNI), state-owned railway company (PT. Kereta Api), and others.
According to Sofyan, State Administrative Law, State Finance Law, and State Assets stipulate that the Governments assets cannot be confiscated. “The Government may not be able to resolve land dispute cases if State Assets cannot be executed,” Sofyan said.
Land dispute cases among people or individual landowners, he added, can be resolved by summoning and mediating, or, in some regions, by applying customary law.
The Minister further said that private concession dispute in the forest area must be resolved by Minister of the Environment and Forestry under Presidential Regulation on Accelerating the release of Land Lots in Forest Areas. “Many companies have released the old village lands to be turned into enclaves,” Sofyan said. (FID / RAH / ES)
Translated by: Syarifah Aisyah
Edited by: Ridwan Ibadurrohman/M. Ersan Pamungkas
