Plantation chief feels the heat over forest fires
Puji Santoso, The Jakarta Post, Pekanbaru
A director of a plantation company in Minas district, Riau, has been declared a suspect for ordering the clearing of hundreds of hectares of land by setting fires, which has contributed to the haze now shrouding parts of Sumatra island and neighboring countries.
The heads of Minas and Kandis districts, where the plantation is located, are also being questioned in connection with the case.
Adj. Comr. Samuel, a member of the government's joint team assigned to probe the forest fires, identified the suspect by his initials as AS. He was arrested on Friday along with several documents taken as evidence and is now being detained at the provincial police office.
"We have secured enough strong evidence. The case will be submitted to the prosecutors soon," he said.
The team consists of National Police officers, prosecutors and officials of the Office of the State Minister for the Environment.
Khairul Zainal, the head of the Riau Environmental Impact Management Agency (Bapedalda) and a member of the team, told The Jakarta Post that AS was arrested after the team discovered the company had cleared some 800 hectares of land from a planned 1,200 hectares by burning off forest growth.
The team found AS had ordered the slash-and-burn land clearance and issued 12 letters, each ordering the clearing of 100 hectares of land. The company had allocated Rp 650,000 for the clearing of one hectare of land.
"The written documents confirm that the fire was organized," he said, saying that the team also seized piles of felled trees, dozens of used tires used to set the fire and an excavator.
Khairul revealed that land clearing by fire had also occurred around other giant plantation companies in the area such as PT Multi Gambut Industri, PT Raja Garuda Mas and PT Sari Lembah Subur.
"According to the law, companies that are located near the burned land must also be responsible for the fire," he said.
Despite the arrest, the Riau administration continued its plan to sue PT AU and other plantation companies for allegedly starting the fire.
Samuel also disclosed that the team also questioned Abdul Razak, the head of Minas district, and Amrul, the head of Kandis district.
"We questioned them on Friday night for five hours. We will summon them soon in connection with the issuance of 600 letters promising compensation for PT AU's land. We don't know whether it was them or their predecessors who issued the letters," he said.
Antara reported that thick haze that covered the Riau capital of Pekanbaru had forced motorists to turn their fog lights on during the day.
Local authorities have attempted to extinguish the fires, but they face difficulties, as most of the fires have occurred on peat land.
The haze also blanketed other parts of mainland Riau. The local Meteorology and Geophysics has predicted that the rainy season will only start in September.
In the neighboring province of Jambi, thick haze continued to blanket the city from dusk till dawn. Although the visibility had improved at more than 100 meters, the haze caused respiratory and eye problems.
The Jambi administration did not issue any statement concerning the haze.
Several oil palm plantation companies in the province have also been accused of clearing land by setting fires. Data from the local forestry agency revealed there were 75 hot spots in the province.
Pekanbaru health agency predicted that the number of people suffering from respiratory problems would rise to 20 percent this month from 4,672 due to the thick haze.