Perselisihan Hukum atas Tumpang Tindih Kawasan Hutan: PT Lubuk Naga vs. Kementerian Lingkungan Hidup dan Kehutanan

PT Lubuk Naga, a domestic company operating shrimp farming since the late 1980s in Serdang Bedagai, North Sumatra, found its legally acquired and historically managed land included within forest areas designated by Ministerial Decrees SK.579/Menhut-II/2014 and SK.5434/MENLHK-PSKL/PKPS/PSL.0/8/2018. The latter decree granted community forest utilization rights to a farmers’ group, resulting in overlapping claims and alleged losses for PT Lubuk Naga. The company claimed prior rights obtained through legal land compensation to local communities and extensive permits from various government agencies.

The case moved to the Administrative Court (PTUN) with PT Lubuk Naga challenging the legality and impact of the ministry’s decisions, arguing they failed to acknowledge pre-existing property rights and due process requirements as mandated by statutory and constitutional protections. Both the Administrative Court and the High Administrative Court sided with the Ministry, refusing to annul the decrees, referencing procedural compliance and the lack of formal land registration (HGU) by PT Lubuk Naga, despite its compensation and permits. The courts found the government had followed prevailing legal protocols in issuing forest utilization rights, and administrative remedies by the company were deemed insufficient to establish overriding land rights under current law.

PT Lubuk Naga, sebuah perusahaan dalam negeri yang telah mengelola usaha budidaya dan tambak udang sejak akhir 1980-an di Serdang Bedagai, Sumatra Utara, mendapati lahan yang diperolehnya secara sah masuk dalam kawasan hutan berdasarkan Keputusan Menteri SK.579/Menhut-II/2014 dan SK.5434/MENLHK-PSKL/PKPS/PSL.0/8/2018. Keputusan terakhir memberikan izin pemanfaatan hutan kepada kelompok tani yang lahannya tumpang tindih dengan lahan PT Lubuk Naga, sehingga perusahaan merasa dirugikan.

PT Lubuk Naga mengklaim telah memperoleh hak atas lahan melalui ganti rugi kepada masyarakat dan mengantongi izin dari banyak instansi pemerintah sebelum adanya penetapan kawasan hutan tersebut. Perkara ini dibawa ke Pengadilan Tata Usaha Negara (PTUN), di mana PT Lubuk Naga menggugat legalitas penetapan kawasan hutan dan pemberian izin hutan kemasyarakatan karena dianggap mengabaikan hak keperdataan mereka dan kewajiban asas due process oleh negara.

Namun, baik PTUN di tingkat pertama maupun banding menguatkan keputusan Kementerian, menolak membatalkan keputusan tata usaha negara tersebut dengan pertimbangan bahwa prosedur telah dijalankan sesuai ketentuan dan PT Lubuk Naga dinilai belum pernah mengantongi HGU resmi atas tanah yang disengketakan, meski telah mendapat ganti rugi dan izin dari berbagai pihak.