Environment Ministry sanctions 67 companies linked to Sumatra floods
Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Ministry of Environment and Forestry (KLH) has issued administrative sanctions to 67 companies in three provinces affected by last year’s floods, as these entities were one of the factors contributing to the hydrometeorological disaster in the region.
In a working meeting with Commission XII of the House of Representatives (DPR RI) in Jakarta on Monday, Minister of Environment and Forestry (LH)/Head of the Environment Control Agency (BPLH) Hanif Faisol Nurofiq stated that KLH/BPLH has verified 175 companies in Aceh, North Sumatra, and West Sumatra operating in the mining, palm oil plantation, and forest business permit (PBPH) sectors in production forests, which are indicated to have cleared 1,805,615 hectares (ha) of land.
“From the issuance of administrative sanctions to subsequent criminal processes, and some environmental approval processes in the provinces we have delegated to the provinces. Some are returned to forestry, and out of the 175, two are not operating,” said Hanif.
From that number, administrative sanctions in the form of government coercion to conduct environmental audits have been issued to 22 business units, and 45 are still in the issuance process. A total of 67 companies received sanctions.
On that occasion, he also conveyed that they have conducted a rapid environmental study related to the spatial and regional planning drafts of the three flood-affected provinces.
“Post-disaster housing has been prepared in detail; we provide detailed spatial directions per sub-district. Locations that should be avoided for permanent housing construction and locations that still have carrying capacity for rapid housing construction,” he explained.
From that study, they found discrepancies between the strategic environmental assessment (KLHS) and the spatial and regional planning, which caused the severity of the hydrometeorological disaster impacts.
The study itself has been submitted to relevant parties to prevent similar flood disasters from recurring.