Nusron: Service Acceleration and Data Integration Close Gaps for Land Mafia

Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning Minister/Head of the National Land Agency (ATR/BPN) Nusron Wahid has said that accelerating land services, combined with data integration, can narrow the gaps exploited by land mafia.

“If the data is proper, the data is good, then the data integration and IT systems are complete, I think this acceleration of services actually closes the room for mafia to operate,” Nusron said at the Ministry of Home Affairs (Kemendagri) office in Jakarta on Monday.

According to Nusron, land mafia can exploit discrepancies between land data and data held by regional governments to carry out their operations.

He cited differences between the Land Parcel Identification Number (NIB) and the Tax Object Number (NOP), as well as data held by the Regional Revenue Agency (Bapenda) differing from land data, as gaps that land mafia can exploit.

“For example, differences in data between the NIP, the Land Parcel Identification Number, and the NOP, with data at Bapenda differing from land data — there is definitely a gap there, and the mafia will enter,” he said.

“If the service is slow, drawn out, the mafia will definitely enter,” he added.

According to him, land mafia can exploit such conditions by intimidating applicants, making it seem as though land rights cannot be processed without the help of certain parties.

“They intimidate the applicant or the public. ‘If you don’t have me, if I don’t help you, this won’t possibly be completed. You have to give me this much money.’ That’s usually how they behave, isn’t it?” Nusron said.

“Transparency, acceleration, and data integration actually close the opportunities for mafia actions. Because when it comes to fighting the mafia, the most effective approach is not merely making arrests, but the most important thing is fixing the system and improving the integrity of human resources,” he said.

He stressed that a strong system and human resources with integrity are key to narrowing the space for land mafia to operate.

“No matter how much it is tampered with, if the system is solid, the mafia will have no gap,” Nusron concluded.