Govt urged to revoke PT MIL's investment permit

Govt urged to revoke PT MIL's investment permit

Ridwan Max Sijabat
and Apriadi Gunawan
The Jakarta Post/Medan

Environmentalists have called on the government to revoke the
investment permit it has issued for a Singaporean investor who is
developing an international tourist resort on land near Lake Toba
because it is feared it will destroy the ecosystem and endanger
villagers living on land lower than the project area.

Executive director of North Sumatra Environmental Forum Herwin
Nasution said here on Thursday that the government had to revoke
the investment permit and ask the management of PT Merek Indah
Lestari to suspend the ongoing development project in Gorat Ni
Padang, Merek, some 120 kilometers southeast of North Sumatra,
because the tourist facilities, especially a golf course and a
five-star hotel, were built on land in a protected forest.

He stressed that in accordance with Environmental Law, no
development activities were allowed on such critical land because
the tourist facilities were constructed on mountainous slopes and
steep rocks that could bring disasters to hundreds of people
living in Tongging, Pangambatan and Kodon-kodon, three villages
which were located precisely below the location.

"Besides, PT MIL has also breached Law No. 41/1999 that
prohibits any human activities in protected forests and parks,
because a part of the tourist resort is included in the protected
forest, which is home to numerous protected rare mammals," he
said.

Jaya Arjuna, another environmental activist, said that in
accordance with the sustainable development concept, development
activities on critical land was tolerable as long as they did not
cause environmental degradation and used environmentally friendly
technology.

The Karo regental administration which issued the investment
permit for PT MIL, should have determined what type of facilities
were allowed to be developed on such critical land before issuing
the permit.

"The local administration must stick to the spatial zoning it
has made and conduct an analysis on what may be the negative
impact on the environment," said Jaya.

Tendeanus, a member of the company's board of commissioners,
conceded that his company had not yet obtained an Environmental
Impact Analysis (Amdal) certificate from the local
administration.

"We requested an Amdal certificate one year ago but so far, we
have not received it. It is impossible for us to develop the
tourist facilities without an Amdal certificate. What we are
doing is to develop waterways to avoid landslides and flooding
during the rainy season," he said on Wednesday.

During The Jakarta Post's field tour on Monday, it was seen
that a bigger part of the tourist facilities was being
constructed on land that should not be utilized for such
construction projects, otherwise it may trigger natural disasters
such as landslides and flooding that could threaten hundreds of
residents in the three villages.

The North Sumatra provincial government and the Karo regental
administration started on Wednesday to check the actual location
of the development project since they have been at odds over the
matter.

Based on its recent field tour, the provincial government
defended its stance that a part of the project is included in the
protected forest while the Karo regental administration said the
large was earmarked for tourism and business activities.

Chief of the Karo regency's forestry office Ramli Sembiring
said that the regental administration allowed PT MIL to develop
an international tourist resort in Gorat Ni Padang in Merek, some
120 kilometers southeast of Medan, capital of North Sumatra
province, last year after the company obtained an approval from
the National Investment Coordinating Agency (Bapepam).

He said that the 200-hectare area which was given to PT MIL
was not part of the protected forest because according to the
regency's spatial zoning, the area may be utilized for tourist
resorts and business activities.

He also said that the regental administration has allowed the
company to develop an international-standard tourist resort with
a five-hole golf course, five-star hotel, agropolitan house and
interfaith religious park as the main facilities.

He conceded that the company, most of whose shares were
dominated by a Singaporean investor, has not yet gained an Amdal
certificate from the local administration.

Amdal, a prerequisite for all business and development
activities, is a certificate issued based on an analysis of the
possible negative impacts of projects on the environment.