New Mining Permit Issued in Flood-Prone Batang Toru River Basin, Environmentalists Warn of Disaster Risk

Despite the devastating floods that recently struck North Sumatra, the provincial government has issued a new mining permit for sand and stone extraction within the Batang Toru river basin. This decision has drawn sharp criticism from Walhi, an environmental advocacy group, which warns of increased risks for future disasters.

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This is a real threat of follow-up disasters in the Batang Toru river basin if the mining activity is not stopped immediately.

Rianda Purba, Director of Walhi North Sumatra, revealed that PT Batang Nauli Denggan received a permit to exploit 7.42 hectares in the river basin. "This is a real threat of follow-up disasters in the Batang Toru river basin if the mining activity is not stopped immediately," Purba stated, emphasizing that the river's ecosystem was already damaged by a previous flood event linked to Tropical Cyclone Senyar.

Purba argued that the new mining operations will further destabilize the river, altering its morphology by widening its bed, lowering its depth, and causing erosion and abrasion of its banks. He urged Governor Bobby Nasution to cancel the permit, stating that the governor should be implementing disaster risk reduction programs, not increasing the risks.

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Mining will widen the riverbed, lower the river's depth, and cause riverbank erosion and abrasion.

Walhi also raised suspicions about the permit's issuance, suggesting a potential conflict of interest. The group alleges that company officials, including Director Sapruddin, may have kinship ties to Governor Nasution through his uncle, Benny Sinomba Siregar, who heads the Medan City Library and Archives Office. Tempo's attempts to reach Benny Sinomba for comment were unsuccessful. Walhi further speculates that the materials extracted by PT Batang Nauli Denggan could be supplied for reconstruction projects in the flood-affected Tapanuli Selatan and Tapanuli Tengah regions.

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We suspect Sapruddin is related to Benny Sinomba Siregar, Bobby Nasution's uncle.