Govt may fail to decide fate of 22 mining contracts this month: Purnomo
Monday, June 16 2003 - 04:29 AM WIB
The government said Monday it was pessimistic that it would be able to decide this month the fate of 22 mining contracts alleged to cover protected forest areas.
?More meetings are needed to decide the future of the contracts,? Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Purnomo Yusgiantoro said on Monday.
A limited cabinet meeting to discuss the issue will be held Tuesday, the minister told reporters.
President Megawati Soekarnoputri in March ordered an inter-ministerial team to complete its study over 22 mining contracts by this month.
The government banned open pit mining in 22 areas on the ground that they overlapped with protected and conservation forests. The current forestry law issued in 1999, Law No. 41 Year 1999, bans open pit mining in such areas.
The 22 contracts were awarded before 1999. (godang)