JAKARTA - The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) said that the Batang Toru Hydroelectric Power Plant (PLTA) in South Tapanuli, North Sumatra, has not yet obtained a loan and use permit for forest areas (IPPKH).
"PLTA Batang Toru also has the task of replanting 120 percent of its trees, this is also the PPKH permit that has not been issued yet," said the Director General of New, Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation (EBTKE) of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, Eniya Listiani Dewi, as reported by ANTARA, Wednesday, December 3.
Eniya said that regarding the factors that have caused the issuance of the IPPKH for the Batang Toru hydropower plant, it is the authority of the Ministry of Environment.
The statement was in response to the Mining Advocacy Network (Jatam) which brought up the presence of the Batang Toru Hydropower Plant and the Sipansihaporas Plant in North Sumatra as one of the causes of flash floods in Sumatra.
Jatam said the Batang Toru hydropower plant and the Sipansihaporas hydropower plant utilized the flow from one of the main watersheds (DAS) in the Batang Toru Ecosystem, an ecologically important area but now filled with dams, water tunnels, and other infrastructure networks.
According to Eniya, the hydropower plant must maintain fertility and reforestation upstream of the river, because it needs to maintain the water discharge.
"So, it's not appropriate if (PLTA) causes flooding," said Eniya.
Previously, the Minister of Environment (LH) Hanif Faisol Nurofiq admitted that there was a change in the landscape of areas affected by floods and landslides in Sumatra, including near the hydropower plant and gold mines.
The Ministry of Environment (KLH) will involve universities in Aceh, North Sumatra, and West Sumatra to conduct a study on the carrying capacity and capacity of the environment in the midst of company activities in flood-affected areas in the area.
Pusdatin Badan Nasional Penanggulangan Bencana (BNPB) per Rabu (3/12) mencatat 753 orang meninggal dunia, 650 orang hilang, dan 2,600 orang luka-luka, disertai kerusakan infrastruktur berat yang menghambat akses bantuan ke berbagai lokasi.
President Prabowo Subianto conducted a review of the disaster-affected locations on Monday. Weather modification operations were also carried out by the government in the Sumatra region to suppress rainfall in the area.
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