Tasik Regent Demands Problematic Iron Sand Mine Reopened
6 November 2014 10:40 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Tasikmalaya – Tasikmalaya Regent UU Ruzhanul Ulum has ordered the reopening of an iron sand mining in South Tasikmalaya, West Java, despite public demand that the mine be shut down. Uu claimed the mine could increase the regency’s locally-generated revenue (PAD).
“The condition is that it should be environmentally-friendly, without damaging the habitat,” Uu said on Wednesday, November 5, 2014.
Uu also called on businessmen and miners alike to abide by and implement all regulations specified under the law, ministerial regulations and local regulations. “We need the PAD, no matter how small it is,” he said.
When asked about the imbalance between the PAD generated from the mine and its environmental consequences, Uu claimed the circumstances resulted from the present mining method. “The method should be changed so that there will be balance and more profits,” he said.
The Indonesian Fishermen Association (HNSI), meanwhile, was still against the planned reopening of the mine, saying their catches had dwindled when the mine was still operating. “Fishermen are against the mine, forever,” HNSI secretary general Eet Riswana said.
CANDRA NUGRAHA
