Coal mining firm in Kalimantan halts operation due to villagers' protests

PT Mahakam Sumber Jaya, a mining company located in Merumbai district, East Kalimantan has been forced to halt its operation because the company refused to pay compensation to the local villagers, Kaltim Pos daily reported on Friday.

The newspaper said that the villagers living nearby the company's mining site had demanded the company to pay compensation in the form of cash because the company used the land acquired from the villagers two years ago for mining activities instead of cattle breeding as it promised.

Due to the change in the use of the land, the villagers demanded the company to pay their land at Rp 50 million per hectare, instead of Rp 30 million per hectare it had already paid. The company refused to pay the compensation but promised to provide community development funds, instead. The villagers, however, turned down the offer.

The company's management team and representatives of the villagers agreed to settle the dispute on the negotiation table although some villagers still demanded more cash from the land they sold to the mining company. (*)