The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) freezes the IUP Sebuku Sejaka Coal which takes over the Transmigrant Land

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) through the Directorate General of Mineral and Coal (Minerba) has frozen the mining business permit (IUP) of PT Sebuku Sejaka Coal on East Sea Island, Kotabaru, South Kalimantan.

This freezing followed the land that overlapped with the transmigration land.

"For the time being, we will freeze this until the problem is resolved and activities can be carried out again after everything is clear," said Director General of Minerals and Coal Tri Winarno, quoted Wednesday, February 11.

Based on the rules, he continued, the IUP does not include land rights so that the settlement is required to settle the land to 717 SHM owners.

Meanwhile, the Minister of Agrarian and Spatial Planning/Head of the National Land Agency (ATR/BPN), Nusron Wahid, said that his party would revoke the decision of the South Kalimantan BPN Office which revoked 717 ownership certificates (SHM) on land that is now an IUP.

"The first step is that we will revive the certificate. That is, revoking, canceling the Decree (SK) of the Cancellation of the Certificate of Ownership. Second, cancel the Certificate of Use of Rights that has been issued on the land because it falls into the category of overlapping. Third, this week the ATR team / Head of BPN, Transmigration, and the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources' Mining Directorate will go to South Kalimantan," said Nusron.

He explained that this case began with the ownership of land certificates by transmigrants in the former Transmigration Rawa Indah area which was issued around 1990.

Over time, in 2010, a Mining Business Permit (IUP) was issued in the area, which was mostly unproductive swamps and had been abandoned by transmigrants.

In addition, there are many cases of hand-over of rights to certain parties.

Continuing to 2019, upon the request of the local village head, a letter of request for cancellation of the certificate was issued.

After going through a long mechanism, referring to Article 11 in the Regulation of the Minister of ATR/Head of BPN Number 19 of 2016, the South Kalimantan Provincial BPN Regional Office (Kanwil) then canceled as many as 717 land certificates on an area of 485 hectares.

"In our opinion, the article used is not appropriate after we check. In fact, this process has gone through a very long mediation process from January 2025, but some agreed and disagreed. We will do mediation again," said Nusron.

In the mediation to be held in the future, Minister Nusron asked the IUP holders to pay compensation to the certificate holders who will be restored.

Hopefully, the agreement can provide a solution for companies and the community.

"Our order to the team that will leave later, they must not return home before the problem is complete. The point is that the problem is complete. Again, we on behalf of the Ministry of ATR / BPN apologize to the public for this incident," said Nusron.