President Jokowi hands over 1.5 million land ownership certificates
Jakarta, The Gulf Observer: President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) handed over 1.5 million land certificates legalizing residents’ land ownership through hybrid means here on Thursday.
“I am glad that this afternoon, some 1,552,000 certificates have been distributed in 34 provinces and received (by residents) at the State Palace or respective provinces,” the president stated at the State Palace here.
Of the 126 million land plots requiring certification, the president said that 100 million certificates have been completed, while the remaining 26 million certificates are expected to be completed in the next two or three years.
Jokowi was also glad that the land dispute involving the Anak Dalam people had been addressed by the issuance of certificates for the community’s 744 land plots following strenuous work of various officials following up the process on site.
The president affirmed that Minister of Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning/National Land Agency Head Hadi Tjahjanto would have zero tolerance against land mafias seeking to control more land illegally.
“We need to ensure that land conflicts and disputes could be resolved by land certificates that will recognize residents’ ownership of a land plot,” he said.
While urging land certificate recipients to preserve the document well, Jokowi also called on residents planning to use the certificate as collateral for bank loans to ensure they are used for productive purposes.
Meanwhile, Minister Tjahjanto reported that a total of 1,442,450 land certificates were distributed on Thursday, comprising 1,423,750 certificates handed out under the Complete and Systematic Land Registration (PTSL) programme and 119,699 land redistribution certificates.
The ministry has registered some 100.14 million land plots, of which 82.5 million have been certified, out of the estimated 126 million land plots nationwide, he remarked while adding that to complete the 100-percent land certification target, the ministry must certify 25.86 million land plots for the next two to three years.
Tjahjanto also reported that the ministry had redistributed 4.5 million hectares of land under the agrarian reform programme.
“Moreover, to expedite the land certification programme, the ministry encourages district and municipal authorities to exempt BPHTB (duty on acquisition of right on land and building) for first-time land certification. To date, BPHTB has been exempted for some 93 districts and cities,” the minister remarked.
