Members Of The House Of Representatives Suspected That There Was A Sale And Purchase Of State Land In Muaragembong Bekasi

Member of Commission II DPRD West Java Jejen Sayuti welcomed the arrival of Member of Commission IV DPR Ono Surono when holding the West Java Legislative Recess at the Sukadami Village Office, South Cikarang District, Wednesday. ANTARA/Pradita Kurniawan Syah

BEKASI - Member of Commission IV DPR Ono Surono suspects that there is a practice of buying and selling state land in Muaragembong District, Bekasi Regency, West Java, by certain individuals to manipulate the status of forest land release.

Ono Surono suspected that the forbidden practice was carried out by unscrupulous community groups to a number of parties, who then wanted to turn the land into a productive pond area.

"This is one of the social forestry areas, which has a bad side, and then it was reported to Commission IV, one of which was in Muaragembong. We are doing a thorough research and we have heard that someone has reported to the authorities regarding the sale and purchase," said Ono, quoted by ANTARA, Wednesday, July 13th.

He explained that the practice of buying and selling state land began with the proposal of six villages in the sub-district to relinquish the forestry status of the northernmost area of Bekasi Regency. This release was proposed because most of the area is no longer forest. Abrasion and environmental pollution cause the forest to not exist.

This proposal was then used by irresponsible people by trading the land. Initially, part of this state-owned land was managed by local residents for ponds but was not traded.

Ono emphasized that this practice contradicts President Joko Widodo's efforts on forestry issues and also agrarian reform. "This is our focus at Commission IV. This practice of buying and selling is clearly prohibited and becomes a subject of discussion so that it does not happen again in other areas," he said.

The government has actually rolled out a social forestry program. This program allows the community to manage state land for the next 35 years. There are 1.1 million hectares of land that can be used by the community.

"This is a national figure. As for West Java itself, the area is still being calculated and the location is anywhere. This program will really help the community to manage land without violating the rules," he said.

Of the millions of hectares of land prepared, the community can manage a maximum of 2 hectares per person. Then management can also be inherited as long as there is sufficient usage time. "For example, if you are not 35 years old, you can pass it on to your descendants, the most important thing is a maximum of 35 years," he said.

Ono admitted that this program still raises pros and cons because there are concerns that land management will be monopolized by a number of parties so that the surrounding community will not get their rights. For this reason, there needs to be assistance to the community so that they get the same rights in managing forest land.

"Don't let people who don't have ID cards around get land. Then don't forget that from this program there is an obligation to reforest the managed land," he said.

Member of Commission II of the West Java DPRD, Jejen Sayuti, emphasized that the local governments of both West Java and Bekasi Regency must also investigate the alleged practice of buying and selling land in Muaragembong, because this practice involves the community as victims.

"People themselves may not know so this case must be handled immediately," he said.

Regarding social forestry, continued Jejen, the people of Bekasi Regency must be facilitated in order to be able to manage the area. "Because if later it is in the Bekasi Regency area, don't let those who manage it are not from the original community. This must be maintained. So the opportunities and aspirations of this community must be facilitated," he said.