Land mafia has sprung up in the Indonesian Capital (IKN) as the land legalization services in the Nusantara Capital City (IKN) area had been stopped until now. As many as 3,000 requests for land legality were abandoned.
Dadan Suharmawijaya, a member of the Indonesian Ombudsman, said the cessation of services was due to the issuance of a Circular Letter (SE) from the Ministry of Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning concerning Restrictions on the Issuance and Transfer of Land Rights at IKN.
“Even though the Circular Letter only regulates the transfer of land rights. However, it has stopped all land-related services at regional offices and land offices,” he said, on July 27, 2023.
The potential for this letter to be issued is then exploited by irresponsible elements, such as the land mafia, which has begun to emerge. The mafia can suddenly get land certificates without going through a buying and selling process.
“It turns out that many mafias have actually legalized the land. If the people that legalized the land are protected, it can minimize the efforts of the mafia,” he said.
He said that the activity of buying and selling land in IKN was indeed limited. However, based on Presidential Regulation Number 65 of 2022 concerning land acquisition and land management in the IKN, lands in the project may still be registered.
Surprisingly, the sub-district office in the IKN area is reluctant to issue the letter, and limits services to the community. Although, this activity is not included in the activity of buying and selling land.
OIKN’s response to the land mafia issue
Agung Dodit Muliawan, Director of Supervision and Internal Audit of OIKN said that OIKN will follow up on the results of the investigation.
He considered that the land issue is one of the most complex and complicated issues in the development of IKN. With the investigation results from the Indonesian Ombudsman, it can keep the community from the losses caused by the land mafia.
An inspection conducted by the Ombudsman can protect the state and society from mafia actions and land speculation that can harm the state, hinder citizen development, and harm the affected communities,” he said.
Meanwhile, regarding land settlement regulations at IKN, currently it is still being worked on by OIKN. However, this ensures immediate corrective action is implemented.
