Agencies, Jakarta – The government could potentially seize mining activities across 190,000 hectares (733.59 square miles) of illegally cleared forest, the deputy forestry minister told a House of Representatives hearing on Monday, as authorities tackle what they say is unlawful extraction in the country.
Indonesia's unprecedented crackdown, which has seen military-led teams take over palm plantations and mines, has unnerved the industry, pushing up global palm oil prices over concerns it will hit output, and more recently, powering rallies in the prices of metals like tin.
"There were 191,790 hectares (mines) that do not have forestry use permits, which could be considered illegal," Deputy Forestry Minister Rohmat Marzuki said. He did not name any of the companies involved or say how many were involved. Neither did he elaborate on what was being mined or provide any timeline for the seizures.
"The forestry task force has already obtained 8,769 hectares and this is still ongoing to reach 191,790 hectares," he added.
"Along with the forestry task force, the forestry ministry remains committed in obtaining back the forest areas from illegal oil palm plantations and illegal mines," Rohmat said.
The military-backed forestry task force said last week it had taken over 8,800 hectares of land where nickel, coal, quartz sand and limestone were being mined. It has also seized palm plantations across 4.1 million hectares (10.1 million acres), an area roughly the size of the Netherlands.
The Attorney General's Office has assessed potential fines of Rp 109.6 trillion ($6.47 billion) for palm oil companies and Rp 32.63 trillion for mining companies, for operations in forest areas.
Late last year, forestry ministry said it would revoke more than 20 forestry permits across the country, after deadly floods and landslides devastated parts of the northwestern island of Sumatra.
Environmentalists and experts have pointed to the role forest loss played in flash flooding and landslides that this month killed more than 1,000 people and washed torrents of mud into villages.
The government will revoke 22 forestry permits that encompass more than one million hectares of land, forestry minister Raja Juli Antoni told reporters.
More than 100,000 hectares covered by the cancelled permits were on Sumatra, he said, though he did not mention whether the decision was linked to the recent disaster.