Banjarbaru Police Secure Data on All Landowners Involved in Forest Fires
Banjarకి Banjarbaru Police, South Kalimantan Regional Police, have secured all data regarding landowners whose land is currently burning within high-risk forest and land fire (karhutla) areas, with the majority holding private ownership status alongside some corporate entities.
“All of them hold Freehold Titles (SHM),” stated Banjarbaru Police Chief, AKBP Pius Febry, in Banjarbaru on Wednesday.
Pius confirmed that all landowners will be summoned to a coordination meeting involving all relevant agencies, including sub-district heads, district heads, and local neighbourhood heads (RT), accompanied by community policing officers (Bhabinkamtibmas) and territorial officers (Babinsa).
Landowners are being urged to take responsibility for their respective plots to mitigate the threat of forest and land fires. Should any fire spots emerge, they are instructed to extinguish them immediately or promptly inform officials to prevent the fire from spreading.
“There must be a form of accountability; it must not be left unattended and ignored,” he emphasised.
Pius further stated that, based on their evaluation, more than 70 per cent of the burned land was intentionally set on fire. However, he acknowledged that investigators require at least two pieces of evidence to officially designate a suspect in land-burning cases.
To date, investigators from the Banjarbaru Police Criminal Investigation Unit have conducted crime scene investigations at eight locations out of 21 targeted points. From these investigations, one police report (LP) has been filed, and the necessary evidence is currently being finalised.
“Once investigators have secured two pieces of evidence, the status will be upgraded to a full investigation for the naming of suspects,” he explained.
It is noted that forest and land fires in Banjarbaru, the capital of South Kalimantan province, have had a significant impact. The three most severely affected areas include the Ring 1 zone of Syamsudin Noor International Airport, the Liang Anggang protected forest, and the Pengayuan area, covering 900 hectares on the border of Tanah Laut Regency.