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Burned Forest Land in Dharmasraya Illegally Planted with Oil Palm

Stateline MEDIA Newsroom•October 19, 2026•3 min read

A 5.9-hectare burned forest area in Dharmasraya, West Sumatra, was illegally planted with oil palm, prompting a police investigation into land encroachment.

Key Facts

Lahan seluas 5,9 hektare di Bukit Lantak, Tabek, Kecamatan Timpeh, Kabupaten Dharmasraya, Sumatera Barat, yang terbakar pada 15 September 2026, ditemukan telah ditanami kelapa sawit.
Temuan terungkap saat peninjauan lapangan pada Jumat (16/10/2026) oleh Bupati Dharmasraya Annisa Suci Ramadhani bersama Kapolres Dharmasraya AKBP Kartyana Widyarso Wardoyo Putro dan Kepala UPT KPHP Dharmasraya Bobby Habibullah.
Lokasi berada di kawasan Hutan Produksi Terbatas (HPT).
Polres Dharmasraya memasang garis polisi di lokasi; Pemkab Dharmasraya memasang plang bertuliskan larangan mengolah, menanam, atau berkebun di area bekas karhutla di kawasan hutan.
Kepolisian mengumpulkan alat bukti dan memeriksa sejumlah saksi untuk mengusut dugaan tindak pidana penguasaan lahan hutan secara ilegal yang diawali pembakaran.
Temuan ini berlawanan dengan desakan DPR agar hutan bekas karhutla ditanami kayu keras, bukan kelapa sawit.

Found Planted with Oil Palm

A 5.9-hectare plot of land in Bukit Lantak, Tabek, Timpeh District, Dharmasraya Regency, West Sumatra, which had previously burned on September 15, 2026, was found to have been planted with oil palm. The finding was uncovered during a field inspection on Friday (16/10/2026).

The inspection was conducted by Dharmasraya Regent Annisa Suci Ramadhani alongside Dharmasraya Police Chief Adjunct Senior Commissioner of Police (AKBP) Kartyana Widyarso Wardoyo Putro and the Head of the Dharmasraya Production Forest Management Unit (UPT KPHP), Bobby Habibullah.

Based on the inspection results, the area affected by forest and land fires (karhutla) had instead undergone a land-use conversion and was planted with oil palm seedlings without official permits. The site is located within a Limited Production Forest (HPT) area, where utilization must comply with statutory regulations.

Police Line and Prohibition Sign

Following up on the discovery, the Dharmasraya Police Department (Polres) immediately installed a police line at the site to secure the area under investigation. Officers also seized oil palm plants as evidence.

The Dharmasraya Regency Government installed a sign reading, “Strictly Prohibited from Cultivating, Planting, or Farming in Ex-Karhutla Areas Located within Forest Zones.” The installation of the police line and warning sign aims to prevent further activities that do not conform with forest zone utilization regulations.

Regent Annisa reminded the public not to clear land by burning, especially in forest areas. “Do not clear land by burning, especially within forest zones,” she emphasized.

Police Probe Alleged Encroachment

Dharmasraya Police Chief AKBP Kartyana Widyarso Wardoyo Putro stated that his team is conducting an intensive investigation into the alleged criminal offense of illegal forest land occupation preceded by destruction or arson.

“Investigators are currently collecting evidence at the location and scheduling questioning of several witnesses around the area. This step is being taken to uncover the chronology and pursue the parties responsible for this land clearing disguised as a fire,” Kartyana said.

Police stressed that burning forests and unlawfully occupying HPT land violate the Environmental Protection and Management Law as well as Forestry laws, exposing perpetrators to criminal penalties of imprisonment and fines.

Contrary to DPR Demands

The findings in Dharmasraya run contrary to demands from the House of Representatives (DPR) that burned forest areas must not be planted with oil palm. DPR member Daniel Johan had previously asserted that ex-karhutla land should be replanted with hardwood trees, not oil palm, to restore forest ecological functions.

The Dharmasraya case reinforces suspicions of a recurring pattern where forest fires are followed by illegal oil palm cultivation—a practice that has long been under intense scrutiny in Indonesia's handling of forest and land fires.