Jakarta, April 30 -- Land-grabbing practices in Indonesia have declined in the last 10 years, thanks to a government push to get land ownership certificates into the hands of rightful owners, President Joko Widodo said.

"Land-grabbing practices have drastically declined as many residents now hold the certificates," Widodo, popularly known as Jokowi, said during an event of land certificate handover in Banyuwangi, East Java, which was followed online on Tuesday.

Citing a report from the National Land Agency, he noted that out of 126 million land plots nationwide, only 46 million currently have certificates, leaving 80 million vulnerable to disputes.

However, he said, due to digitalization, the certificate issuance process at the BPN is ...