Jatiwaringin Landfill Fire Deemed Negligence by Local Government

The recurring fire at the Jatiwaringin landfill in Mauk, Tangerang Regency, Banten, is being cited as evidence of negligence by the local Environmental Agency. For the second consecutive year, the landfill has experienced a severe fire, with the latest incident proving difficult to extinguish and spreading to cover 15 of the site’s 33 hectares by the third day.

Sukardin, Chairman of the Tangerang Regency branch of the Indonesian Advocates Congress (KAI), has urged the Tangerang Regent to evaluate the performance of the relevant agency. He stated that if the evaluation finds errors or negligence, officials should be dismissed and prosecuted. Sukardin cited Law No. 18 of 2008 on Waste Management, which stipulates that negligent management resulting in public health disturbances, security issues, or environmental pollution can lead to a minimum prison sentence of four years and a maximum of ten years, along with fines ranging from IDR 100 million to IDR 5 billion. Should the incident result in fatalities, the penalty increases to between five and fifteen years.

The fire, which started on Tuesday, has caused 154 residents to suffer from acute respiratory infections, including pregnant women and toddlers who required hospitalisation due to coughing and vomiting. The fire is believed to have been fuelled by the accumulation of methane gas from decomposing organic waste, a direct result of poor waste management systems. Firefighting efforts have involved water bombing by the National Disaster Mitigation Agency and the deployment of personnel from the Tangerang City Regional Disaster Management Agency.