InfoSAWIT, JAKARTA — The Minister of Agrarian and Spatial Planning/Head of the National Land Agency (ATR/BPN), Nusron Wahid, presented new findings on improving governance in the palm oil industry during a working meeting with Commission II of the House of Representatives, as monitored by InfoSAWIT on Monday (9/8/2025).

Based on a check with the Forest Area Control Task Force (Satgas PKH), it was found that 537 palm oil companies holding Plantation Business Permits (IUP) had not obtained Right to Cultivate (HGU) permits.

"In the past, regulations allowed palm oil companies to operate with just an IUP. However, since 2017, the rules changed: they are required to have an HGU. This regulatory change created an old problem we are now addressing," Nusron explained.

Of the 537 companies, 200 had already obtained land rights. However, after an overlay analysis with the Satgas PKH, it was discovered that 33 entities, covering an area of 3,619.6 hectares, were located within forest areas. The remaining 167 entities were declared clean and clear as they were in accordance with other land-use areas.

Meanwhile, 196 companies are still in the process of applying for HGU. Of these, 31 entities were found to be in forest areas, covering 80,822.6 hectares. 91 entities were compliant, while 74 others could not be verified. The remaining six entities could not be analyzed because the Satgas PKH did not have complete shapefile data.

Additionally, 141 entities have not applied for an HGU at all. "If you ask if this 80,000 hectares is part of the 3.2 million hectares the President once announced, I can confirm this is an addition. This data emerged only after the President's speech, so it is an additional confirmation," Nusron stated.

In total, the ATR/BPN recorded 64 entities located within forest areas, with a total area of 84,442.2 hectares. The further handling of these companies will be fully handed over to the Satgas PKH. (T2)