Firms asked to compensate 22.5 billion USD for Indonesia’s forest fires hinh anh 1The Indonesian government is set to receive some 315 trillion IDR (22.5 billion USD) from a number of corporates in the forest fire public lawsuit. (Photo: OI)

Jakarta (VNA) – The Indonesian government is set to receive some 315 trillion IDR (22.5 billion USD) from a number of corporates in the forest fire public lawsuit, according to the Environment and Forestry Ministry (KLHK).

The amount is from nine lawsuits that were granted by the Supreme Court (MA) a while back, said KLHK Director General of Law Enforcement Rasio Ridho Sani.

In total, there are 17 lawsuits related to the massive forest fires Indonesia witnessed this year. Last month, the ministry deemed eight corporate suspects and one individual responsible for widespread forest fires.

The KLHK is pushing for the execution to be done quickly so the defendants could immediately pay up and restore [the damaged environment], said Rasio Ridho.

The KLHK’s Director General of Law Enforcement permanently sealed the operations of 84 corporations and is preparing a number of administrative sanctions for the corporates involved.

According to statistics announced by the Indonesian government on October 21, around 857,756 hectares of land were affected by forest fires during January-September, as compared to 529, 267 hectares in the whole year 2018.

Indonesia had to struggle to control forest fires in Sumatra and Borneo islands, which created critical impacts on the environment and livelihoods of people in the neighbouring countries like Malaysia and Singapore./.
VNA