Ministry of ATR: Land Administration Bill to Strengthen Agrarian System

The Ministry of Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning/National Land Agency (ATR/BPN) has stated that the Land Administration Bill is part of a comprehensive effort to harmonise agrarian regulations and serves as a strategic instrument to strengthen the national land system. “This bill is positioned as a strategic instrument to strengthen the national land system,” said Secretary General of the Ministry of ATR/BPN Dalu Agung Darmawan in Jakarta on Tuesday. He said the bill is part of an effort to harmonise agrarian regulations comprehensively within the framework of national development that is equitable, sustainable, and provides legal certainty. According to him, the Land Administration Bill is drafted based on Law Number 5 of 1960 concerning the Basic Agrarian Law (UUPA), which was originally created as an overarching legal umbrella for agrarian management. Going forward, Dalu added, the Land Administration Bill is expected to become a solution and create a more integrated land administration system. “This Land Administration Bill needs to be formulated due to evolving circumstances and the fragmentation of regulations that trigger regulatory overlaps, policy disharmony, and various problems in land management and administration,” he said. The Ministry of ATR/BPN discussed the Land Administration Bill with Commission II of the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR RI) at the Ministry of ATR/BPN Office in Jakarta on Monday (6/7). Through this focus group discussion, the Ministry of ATR/BPN opened a space for dialogue and gathered input from the leadership and members of Commission II DPR RI to support the strengthening of the bill. From the ministry’s side, the reinforcement of the Land Administration Bill is also supported through the inventory of substantive aspects from technical units. Dalu Agung Darmawan revealed that these technical aspects include land management through a land management paradigm, strengthening surveys, mapping, and cadastres as the foundation of modern land administration, improving land registration governance, strengthening agrarian reform, controlling and regulating land and space, and establishing a land court. The Ministry of ATR/BPN, together with Commission II of the DPR RI, is committed to continuing to refine the substance of the Land Administration Bill before entering the next stage of deliberation. “We greatly hope that the Land Administration Bill can become a priority national legislation programme so that its deliberation can be continued immediately and produce a comprehensive legal foundation for land administration in Indonesia,” he added.