Tanah Laut district, S. Kalimantan, forms a team to study overlapping land claims

The Tanah Laut district administration in South Kalimantan has established an inter-departmental team to study and help settle land-overlapping claims in its area, according to the district mining office chief, Sofyan Asli.

The team comprised of representatives from the mining, plantations, forestry offices, state oil and gas company Pertamina and other related institutions, Sofyan said.

He explained that the team would give recommendations to the district administration to be used as considerations before any mining, plantation or other license is issued to investors.

He noted that thus far 20 investors had filed applications to the district administration to get mining concessions in the area.

Sofyan explained that that the overlapping claims could happen, for instance, between plantation and mining investors, between mining investors and forestry authority and so forth. "Therefore, the team was established to help solve such problems."

If the overlapping claims came from different parties but with the same interest, for instance, overlapping claims from two different mining investors, then the district administration should not issue any mining license for the disputed area.

But if the overlapping claims came from two different parties, with different interests, for instance, between coal mining investor and sand mining investor, the administration could issue two licenses to both investors for the same site, as it would benefit both investors.

And if the overlapping claims came from plantation investor and mining investor, then plantation investor will be first given the license to toil the lands until the lands are not economically productive, only then mining investors will be given the license to mine the area, Sofyan said. (*)