PT Astra Agro Lestari Tbk (Astra Agro) and its subsidiary, PT Lestari Tani Teladan (LTT), invited Walhi and Friends of the Earth (FoE) to discuss and provide feedback on the report titled “No Consent: Astra Agro Lestari’s Land Grab in Central and West Sulawesi,” published in 2022.

The report accuses PT LTT of claiming 1,505 hectares of community-owned land and operating beyond its HGU license, which covers only 321 hectares. However, as of February 14, 2025, there has been no valid evidence to support these allegations.

Econusantara (ENS), the third party appointed by Astra Agro to verify the claims, stated that the complaints from Walhi and FoE were not substantiated.ENS conducted a thorough cross-check of the Cultivation Rights (HGU) permit held by PT LTT and the HGU permit cited in the Walhi/FoE report.

Their investigation revealed that the land registry number (NIB) associated with PT LTT is recorded on the official ATR-BPN website (bhumi.atrbpn.go.id/peta) as being the same as the HGU NIB listed there.

Meanwhile, the HGU number cited as evidence in the Walhi/FoE report does not match the legal HGU permit number held by PT LTT. The ENS verification report established that the HGU permit number referred to by Walhi differs from PT LTT’s NIB, which has been confirmed as an official state document.

Additionally, ENS verified Walhi’s claim regarding the overlap between PT LTT’s HGU permit and community settlements. This verification involved overlaying the settlement locations of Towiora Village with the HGU permit map obtained from PT LTT.

The results indicated that some settlement areas are indeed located within PT LTT’s HGU.As a result, complaints asserting that PT LTT is operating outside the 321-hectare HGU have been disproven, as Walhi/FoE’s report provides insufficient detailed information.

The ENS verification team emphasized that the differences in the licensing document data presented by both parties need clarification, particularly from Walhi.

As a result, Astra Agro is committed to maintaining open communication with Walhi and has initiated a tripartite meeting involving Walhi, Astra Agro, and BPN, with ENS present to mediate the complaints.