Complicated rules delay many oil palm projects<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): At least 156 investors have not been able to
\nrealize their investment plans to open oil palm plantations in
\nEast Kalimantan due to the complex licensing procedure, an
\nofficial said yesterday.<\/p>\n
East Kalimantan Governor Suwarna Abdul Fatah was quoted by
\nAntara as saying in Samarinda that the 156 investors had received
\nlocation permits from the provincial administration but they
\ncould not start their projects due to not having the so-called
\nforest relinquishment permits from the Ministry of Forestry and
\nPlantations.<\/p>\n
Under the existing laws, he said, investors who want to turn
\nforests into plantations are required to obtain location permits
\nfrom the provincial administration and forest relinquishment
\npermits from the Ministry of Forestry and Plantations.<\/p>\n
It takes only one year for investors to get a location permit
\nfrom the provincial administration but at least three years to
\nget the forest relinquishment permits, he said.<\/p>\n
Suwarna believed the ministry deliberately withheld the
\nlicenses to protect the interests of certain parties, but he gave
\nno details.<\/p>\n
\"We have several times filed complaints with the central
\ngovernment over the case, but there has not yet been any
\nresponse,\" he told several legislators from House of
\nRepresentatives Commission II for political and administration
\naffairs who are on a working visit to the province.<\/p>\n
The governor said the province still had 21 million hectares
\nof forest, including five million hectares available for
\nplantation and industrial development.<\/p>\n
He said the government needed to revoke the ruling which
\nobliges oil palm investors to obtain forest relinquishment
\npermits from the Ministry of Forestry and Plantations.<\/p>\n
The investors should be allowed to work on the projects on the
\nbasis of permits issued by the provincial administration.<\/p>\n
\"In the spirit of reform, the government is expected to issue
\na ruling which will allow the local administrations to do all the
\nlicensing work,\" the governor said. (jsk)<\/p>",
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"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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