Ministries Request Budget for Forest Fire Handling, Purbaya: As Long as No Mark-Up

Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa has revealed that the government is open to allowing ministries or agencies handling forest and land fires, known as karhutla, to increase their budgets.

He said that for the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB), for example, if the disaster management ceiling of Rp5 trillion that has been provided is insufficient, it can still be increased.

“We will continue to provide it; they have Rp5 trillion. If it is not enough, we will add more later,” Purbaya said at his office in Jakarta on Wednesday (26/8/2026).

For BNPB, Purbaya acknowledged that it has not yet requested additional budget for handling the forest and land fires that are still ongoing. However, the Ministry of Forestry has already submitted a budget request.

“For now, the Ministry of Forestry has also requested a budget, and we have already provided part of it,” he said.

“BNPB has not yet submitted the total cost. We do not know how much it will be. This is still ongoing, so they will reassess. But my estimate is that it will not be as large as in Aceh, because Aceh was very massive,” Purbaya stressed.

Although the government is open to strengthening the budget for handling forest and land fires, Purbaya requested that any additional costs submitted should not be the result of mark-ups.

“As long as it is not marked up. For disasters, the approach is different from regular spending. Disasters truly concern the welfare of many people and threaten their lives. So we will take a different approach compared to other programmes,” he explained.