Firms' permits revoked for burning forests
JAKARTA (JP): The government revoked 151 wood-use licenses of 29 plantation and timber companies yesterday after they failed to present documents disproving the government's allegations that they were responsible for starting brush and forest fires.
The Ministry of Forestry's Director General of Forest Protection and Nature Preservation Soemarsono said the 29 companies, which included four state-owned companies, failed to meet Thursday's deadline for submitting evidence to support their innocence.
The government accused 176 companies last month of violating strict laws against the burning of forest to clear land.
The companies were given a deadline to present a statement of denial along with an audit report containing evidence disproving the allegations.
According to Soemarsono, 110 companies submitted a denial statement to the ministry, of which only 65 had an audit attached.
He explained that not all of the companies charged with burning forest had wood-use licenses and thus only the 151 licenses owned by the 29 companies were revoked by the Ministry of Forestry.
The government has charged that widespread fires in Kalimantan and Sumatra have been mainly caused by the land burning methods conducted by plantation and forestry estates.
The fires have resulted in severe haze enveloping not only Sumatra and Kalimantan, but also neighboring Malaysia and Singapore.
More than 30,000 people in Indonesia are reportedly suffering from respiratory illnesses and eye irritations as a result of the haze.
The haze has also caused havoc to flights, shipping and land transportation over the last three months.
President Soeharto himself has apologized to neighboring countries for the forest fires causing the haze, which has been declared a natural disaster.
A concerted effort involving international assistance has been launched to combat the forest fires and haze.
The companies whose licenses were revoked were:
In South Sumatra: timber company PT Pakerin and plantation company PT Musi Rindang Wahana.
In Riau: timber estates PT Arara Abadi, PT Rimba Lestari, PT Riau Andan Pulp and Paper and PT Perawang Sukses Perkasa Ind., and plantation companies PT Gunung Mas Raya, PT Inti Kamparindo Sejahtera, PT Kencana Amal Tani, PT Subur Arum Makmur, PT Inti Indo Sawit Subur, PT Musim Mas, PT Perdana Inti Sawit, state- owned PT Perkebunan II and PT Sarpindo Graha.
In Jambi: timber estates PT Wana Perintis and PT Wana Kasita Nusantara.
In Central Kalimantan: timber estates PT Parwata Rimba and PT Pola Inti Rimba, and plantation companies PT Gunung Sejahtera Dua Indah, PT Teguh Sempurna, PT Mustika Sembuluh and PT Kridatama Lancar.
One transmigration contractor in Central Kalimantan was also named, PT Hanjalipan.
In East Kalimantan: timber estates PT Tanjung Redeb Hutani, PT ITCI Hutani Manunggal and PT Kiani Hutani Lestari, and plantation company PT Swakarsa Sinar Sentosa.
In West Kalimantan: plantation company PT Prakarsa Tani Sejati.
Minister of Forestry Djamaludin Suryohadikusumo said yesterday that the revocation would be "reviewed" as soon as the companies submitted their audits to the ministry.
Elaborating on the current state of the fires, Djamaludin said the latest satellite images showed a decreasing number of hot spots in the northern part of East Kalimantan, the northern part of West Kalimantan, and the northern part of South Sumatra and Lampung.
The haze and forest fires had also been linked to the forest fires, but Antara reported yesterday rains had started in a number of areas in Java including Jakarta, Depok, Tangerang, Semarang and Tulungagung. (07/08/ste/aan)
Anwar -- Page 6