Land Mafia For The Paselloreng Wajo Dam Project, South Sulawesi, Allegedly Loses Rp75.6 Billion To The State

The location of the Paselloreng Dam construction project in Wajo Regency, South Sulawesi. BETWEEN/HO-Documentation Ministry of PUPR

The South Sulawesi High Prosecutor's Special Crime Investigation Team (Pidsus) suspects that there has been a state financial loss of more than Rp. 75.6 billion related to the land mafia's practice of paying land compensation for the Paselloreng Dam Development project in Wajo Regency.

"After exposure of the case and the South Sulawesi High Prosecutor's Investigation Team has raised the case to the investigation stage," said South Sulawesi Attorney General Leonard Eben Ezer Simanjuntak as reported by ANTARA, Friday, July 21.

In this case, the Head of the South Sulawesi Attorney General's Office Number: Print- 92/P.4/Fd.1/01/2023 was issued as of January 31, 2023. Furthermore, this case was upgraded to the investigation stage because the investigative team had found a criminal incident.

At the investigation stage, evidence will be collected to make light of the criminal acts that occurred and find who was responsible criminally. The investigation is based on the Investigation Order Number: Print 664/P.4/Fd.1/07/2023 as of July 20, 2023

Based on the investigation of investigators in this case, in early 2015, the Pompengan Jeneberang River Basin Center (BBWS) carried out the physical construction of the Passeloreng Dam in Gilireng District, Wajo Regency.

Following up on this, the Governor of South Sulawesi issued a decision to determine the location for land acquisition for the construction of the dam.

The location for land acquisition for the construction of the Paselloreng Dam requires land or land consisting of land that is still included in the Lapaiepa and Lapantungo Permanent Production Forest Areas (HPT) located in Passeloreng Village, Wajo Regency which has been appointed by the government as the HPT forest area.

After going through the process of changing forest areas in the context of a review of the South Sulawesi Provincial Spatial Planning (RTRWP), one of them is for the benefit of the Panselloreng Dam Development in Wajo Regency.

On May 28, 2019, a Decree of the Minister of Environment and Forestry was issued Number: SK.362/MENLHK/SETEN/PLA.0/5/2019 concerning the change of forest areas to not forests. Forest areas covering an area of 91.337 ha, changes in the function of forest areas covering an area of 84.032 ha and non-forest areas into forest areas covering an area of 1.838 ha in South Sulawesi.

In this case, it is suspected that there were individuals ordering several honorariums at the Wajo Regency State Land Agency (BPN) Office to make a statement on the physical control of the land parcel or collective Sporadik as many as 246 plots of land on April 15, 2021.

Then, the Sporadik was handed over to the community and the Head of Paselorang Village and the Head of Arajang Village to be signed, so that with Sporadik it was as if the community had controlled the land, even though it was known together that the land was a forest area.

A total of 246 plots of land were later declared to have met the requirements for payment of compensation by Task Force A and Task Force B which were formed in the context of land acquisition for public interest development. Furthermore, it was handed over to the Consultant for Public Appraisal Services (KJPP) to assess land and plant prices.

However, based on satellite imagery photos issued in 2015 by the Geospatial Information Agency (BIG), it appears that the former forest area in question that year is still a forest area and is not a cultivated land as the community claims.

Thus, the land is not included in the category as a cultivated land as stipulated in Presidential Regulation number 88 of 2017 concerning the Settlement of Land Control in Forest Areas.

From the assessment of land and plant prices, BBWS Pompengan asked the State Asset Management Institute (LMAN) of the Ministry of Finance as an Institution that financed the land acquisition to pay as much as 241 plots of land covering an area of 70,958 ha with a total payment of more than Rp75.6 billion.

Because 241 plots of land are former forest areas that are state land and cannot be categorized as land or cultivated land, the land payment has the potential to harm state finances by more than Rp75.6 billion, due to land acquisition with forest status.