Bali Starting This Year Stops Tourist Building Permits On Productive Land

DENPASAR - The Provincial Government (Pemprov) of Bali starting in 2025 has implemented instructions prohibiting the granting of permits for the construction of tourism facilities on productive land.

"For the conversion of land, instructions have been prepared, I have signed it and I will gather with regents/mayors throughout Bali to implement this instruction," said Bali Governor Wayan Koster, Monday, July 28.

"The instructions starting this year should no longer be licensed to use productive land for tourism facilities," he continued at the Bali DPRD Plenary Session.

Governor Koster said this step was part of a clean program that was deliberately carried out in the second period to coincide with the start of the Bali Development Policy 100 of 2025-2125.

He admitted that he was not afraid of this controversial policy, including if he received criticism from various parties who did not agree, because this was his last period as governor.

One of the efforts to clean up the tourism sector has begun, such as asking the owner of the Step Up Jimbaran building to cut the height of the building which exceeds the rules, as well as dismantling nearly 50 tourism buildings in violation at Bingin Beach.

For the case of tourism buildings such as lodging and restaurants at Bingin Beach, Governor Koster went directly to see the demolition process, where entrepreneurs violated badly because they built on state-owned protected land.

"I was directly involved in the demolition because the violation was very bad, this is good, this is the first time there has been the demolition of a tourism business building and this will not stop, I will continue to the next point, can I be afraid? , no," he said.

Koster explained that his step by going directly to the demolition at Bingin Beach was a form of affirmation that he was not playing games with government officials or business actors who violated business land regulations.

However, the Bali Provincial Government needs the help of the Bali DPRD, because the council conducted previous monitoring until finally the recommendations were dropped and the executive executed them.

"Not only buildings but bad practices that pollute Bali, including massages, closed spas and for Balinese earth (dirty) I will take action, I beg you to continue this attitude, if there is a recommendation from the council to be dealt with, I will follow up, there are nine more points," he said.

Responding to the governor's invitation to clean up Bali tourism, Deputy Chairperson of the Bali DPRD I Wayan Diesel Astawa said he still wanted to hear nine points that the governor had not disclosed.

He admitted that he agreed with this program, but according to him, the next location must be handled properly because many buildings were already established before this program was launched and have the potential to harm entrepreneurs.

"So we have to arrange him if the existing buildings are pre-existing how to manage, we can't build buildings that have existed before, only now we have a regional regulation, then we can't collapse it like that," he said.