Indonesia Court Ruling Impacts Future of New Capital Nusantara

JAKARTA – Indonesia’s new national capital city Nusantara faced a setback as a constitutional court overturned a provision that would have extended land-use rights to the government for nearly 200 years. The ruling, issued on Nov 13, now mandates that land-use rights at Nusantara be capped at 95 years with periodic reviews. Justices argued that the original 190-year arrangement violated constitutional principles by not being temporary and regularly reassessed. The case was brought by a Dayak community member and a resident of Sepaku in East Kalimantan, concerned about the risks of marginalising local communities and undermining state’s land management duties.