Issuance of coal mining permits in East Kalimantan out of control

The provincial administration of East Kalimantan said that the issuance of coal mining permits by the province's regencies and municipality governments has been out of control and warned that the over licensed mining activities could seriously damage the province's environment, Bisnis Indonesia reported on Friday.

The deputy of the mining department at the provincial administration, Yansen, said in Jakarta the regencies and the municipalities in the province had issued coal mining permits as many as possible in a bid to generate more revenues for their budget, without paying attention on their potential impact on the environment.

"The provincial administration's control is no more effective because investors preferred to directly with regency authorities when applying for mining permits," he said. "The authority given to regencies to manage their economic potentials could be harmful. So I think such autonomy needs to be reviewed," he said.

The mining operation in East Kalimantan is mushrooming as more and more investors enter the mining sector to take the advantage of the soaring coal prices in the world's market. (*)