TRIBUNPONTIANAK.CO.ID, PONTIANAK – Mining in West Kalimantan is indeed booming. There is a massive trend of mine expansion, reaching nearly 6 million hectares. The most prominent is the mining permit in the forest area. (Also read: Rare Mine in Sadaniang, the Council Requests Selective Permission).
That was evaluated by the Ministry of Forestry and the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) was subordinated. Another problem that has also been supervised by the KPK and ministries in addition to mining in forest areas is technical matters of the rules or the law in mining activities. (Also read: Sadaniang People Need Clear Socialization). For example, taxes, permit processing, and others. Regarding mining, the Minister of Forestry has asked the governor and regent to evaluate the permit to reduce the permit. This means that there must be an evaluation of licensing arrangements.
“Right now the licensing authority is in the province so it’s no longer in the regent. The governor should be more proactive in monitoring and evaluating. Another problem in West Kalimantan is the overlapping of mining permits and plantation licenses, “said Hermawanysah, Director of the Swandiri Institute.
He continued, so the West Kalimantan Provincial Government provided a solution to synchronize mining and other activities including the plantation earlier. “We also protested that the regulation was related because the legal provisions on it were unclear,” he added.
In West Kalimantan there is also mining in customary forest areas. In Tayan Subdistrict, for example, in the villages of Sejotang and Subah, the community now has a negative impact. Some time ago there was a private company that mined bauxite to carry out activities outside their concession area.
The company is washing bauxite seeds in Semenduk Lake, Sejotang Village. Later Semenduk Lake dried up, the ground was hard and cracked. Even though the lake has become one of the sources of local people looking for fish.