BCS to hold meeting with govt officials to settle dispute with villagers

Tuesday, December 23 2003 - 02:42 AM WIB

South Kalimantan-based coal miner PT Bahari Cakrawala Sebuku (BCS) plans to hold a meeting on Jan. 8 with among others local lawmakers, government mining officials, environmental experts, and officials of the Kotabaru regency administration in a bid to resolve dispute with local villagers, which have accused the company of damaging the environment.

Company president Ginarsa Tandinegara said that the involvement of the mining officials from the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources and experts from Bapedalda (local environmental watchdog) was important to help obtain a more "objective view" about the case.

?We hope that the problems could be settled in this meeting, and we will together find solution,? Ginarsa told Petromindo.Com on Monday.

As previously reported, on Saturday around two hundreds local villagers held a six-hour blockade on a northern section road of the company?s mining site in Kotabaru regency's Sebuku Island after BCS top management refused to join local lawmakers and villagers to inspect the alleged environmental damaged caused by the open pit mining operation. The blockade ended only after the company sent its representatives to the inspection site.

The company has said that it was impossible to hold an effective talk on Saturday because of the involvement of too many people (hundreds of villagers).

The villagers claimed that because of the pollution caused by the mining operation, they now find difficulties in cathing fish from the local river.

But Ginarsa said BCS has fulfilled all requirements for its mining operation including to minimize the environmental impact. ?BCS has been awarded a bronze medal for its environmental protection activities last year,? Ginarsa added.

BCS operates the opencut truck and shovel coal mining in Sebuku island, South Kalimantan. The company produced around 2 million tons last year. The company?s product mostly goes for export to India, Japan, the Philippines and Malaysia.

BCS is 80 percent owned by Australian Straits Resources Limited, while the remaining 20 percent stake holds by PT Reyka Wahana Digdjaya. (robert/osbin)

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