Adaro faces confusing land regulation

Coal mining company PT Adaro Indonesia has been facing a confusing government regulation over land compensation.

The South Kalimantan Banjarmasin Post daily reported that Adaro had not been able to realize the land compensation demand made by the people of three villages in the Tabalong regency in South Kalimantan province because the company made its calculation based on the regent decree, while the people made their demand based on the decree of the director general of land affairs which carried a higher land compensation price.

This problem emerged during a meeting with the Tabalong House of Representatives. Adaro made the visit after it failed to reach agreement with the people of the Padang Panjang, Warukin and Laburan villages whose land had been acquired by the company.

The people had been asking for Rp 25,000 per square meter, while Adaro proposed a compensation of Rp 30-Rp 110 per sqm.

But an official of the local Land Affairs Agency (BPN) who came later on said that the director general decree was not longer effective, and the decree was not meant for land compensation but tax calculation. He said that land compensation should be based on the regent decree as being used by Adaro.

Deputy speaker of the parliament Suriansyah asked BPN to inform this to the people.

The villagers had also been protesting the low compensation price given to their land containing coal reserves, and higher price for land far from the mining site.

Adaro spokesman Putu Sastrawan said that the price difference was not the company's fault because it was as stipulated in the regent decree.(*)