Ministry allows 40 regional govts to issue new IUPs, House expects more

The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources on March 19, 2013, has proposed to Commission VII of the House, a list of 40 regional/municipality governments to be allowed to issue IUPs or mining permits as dispensation against the moratorium put in effect by the Ministry since March last year on the issuance of mining permits on minerals and rocks.

Specific recommendation for a particular regional or municipality government would be made after members of the House conduct site visit to the requesting region to collect first-hand information as requirement for the dispensation grant.

The 40 proposed regional governments were short-listed from a list 72 regions who have requested to delay the moratorium, allowing them to continue releasing mining permits (IUP).

Some of their reasons include the scarcity of certain non-metal mineral commodity, the need for more employment opportunities, and required development of infrastructure normally could be expected with the mininng development.

Thamrin Sihite, Director General of mineral and coal at the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry said in Jakarta on Tuesday that the 40 names include Lamongan, Sukabumi, Cianjur and a number of other regional governments in Java.

According to Asfihani, a member of the commission VII member from the Democratic Party, the list is not final. The number could increase accordingly, based on the regions specific conditions. "It can even go up to 45 tomorrow," he was quoted as saying by the Tempo.com. (*)