Prabowo Signs Rule Allowing State Takeover of Idle Mining and Housing Land

JAKARTA, Investortrust.id — President Prabowo Subianto has enacted a new regulation allowing the state to take control of idle land in mining, plantation, industrial, tourism, and large-scale housing areas to accelerate development and reduce inequality, a move expected to strengthen land governance and national resilience.

The policy was stipulated in Government Regulation No. 48 of 2025 on the Control of Idle Areas and Land, which was enacted on Wednesday, Nov 6, 2025.

The regulation states that holders of land rights, concessions, or business permits are expected to maintain and actively use their land to preserve soil quality and improve public welfare.

The government noted that abandoned land had contributed to social and economic inequality, environmental degradation, and declining public welfare.

“Land abandonment also hampers the achievement of development programs, weakens food and economic security, and restricts socio-economic access for communities, especially farmers,” the regulation’s General Explanation stated.

Under Article 4 paragraph 1, permit and concession holders are required to actively cultivate, use, and utilize the land under their control and to report their activities periodically.

Failure to meet these obligations would result in the permit or concession being designated as an object of control for idle areas and land, the regulation said.

Article 4 paragraph 2 lists the objects of idle area control, including mining zones, plantation areas, industrial estates, tourism areas, large-scale or integrated housing estates, and other land-based concession areas.

Article 6 paragraph 1 states that idle land objects include land with ownership rights, building use rights, cultivation rights, use rights, management rights, and land controlled under other legal bases.

Privately owned land may only be classified as idle if it is deliberately unused or neglected, occupied by communities, controlled by other parties for 20 consecutive years without legal ties, or if its social function is not fulfilled.

Article 32 paragraph 1 requires former rights holders to vacate idle land within 30 days after its designation.

“If the former rights holder fails to comply, assets located on the land will be classified as abandoned assets,” Article 32 paragraph 2 stated.

Despite the stricter provisions, Article 33 allows former landholders to file objections against idle land determinations in accordance with prevailing laws.