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orowali regency administration in Central Sulawesi has accused PT Bintang Delapan Mineral (PT BDM), which has a mining operation in a 47,000-hectare site in Bahodopi, Morowali, of operating illegally without an Environmental Impact Analysis (Amdal) permit.

In a meeting with the local council on Friday, Morowali Environmental Agency head Zainab Ishak said the mining license was issued to the company in 2010 but was not supported by an Amdal.

'€œCurrently, the Morowali regency administration has only issued an Amdal to PT Sulawesi Mining Investment, in 2012, to build a smelter, but not an Amdal for exploitation,'€ said Zainab.

She added that based on available data, around 370 hectares of rice fields in Bahomakmur village, Bahodopi, Morowali, could no longer be cultivated as irrigation channel had dried up due to mining activities by the company.

Central Sulawesi provincial council (DPRD) Commission III secretary Huisman Brant Toripalu said that based on a working visit to the area, data at the local community health center showed acute respiratory tract infections were on the rise.

'€œThis is just the early stage. Just imagine the environmental impacts when the company carries out massive exploitation, the rate of infections could soar,'€ said Huisman, from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle faction.

The DPRD has urged the provincial administration to take anticipatory measures, including seeking a solution to problems faced by the community in Bahomakmur village.

From the meeting, a recommendation had been issued to summon the management of PT BDM for an inquiry.

'€œCommission III expects every exploitation activity to comply with regulations,'€ Huisman pointed out.

On the other hand, Central Sulawesi Energy and Mineral Resources Office head Bambang Sunaryo questioned the statement by the Morowali Environmental Agency.

'€œThe Amdal is the basis for exploration and other permits, without which mining operations would obviously be stopped,'€ said Bambang.

Central Sulawesi Environmental Agency head Abdul Rahim also expressed his doubts that the company was not equipped with an exploitation permit because it had been operating and was producing.

He said it was impossible for the company, which had been in operation for almost seven years, not to have been issued with an exploitation permit. '€œI'€™m sure something is not right,'€ he said.

When asked separately, PT BDM spokesman Maman denied that the company did not possess an Amdal.

'€œThis is a bona fide company. We have planned everything before starting work,'€ said Maman.

PT BDM, is a subsidiary of Bintangdelapan Group. The group has set up a joint venture, Sulawesi Mining Investment, with China'€™s Tsingshan Holding Group for a US$1.04 billion ferronickel smelter project, which will enter a more advanced level of construction after development began early last year.