Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Jakarta provincial government has temporarily closed six stockpiles for coal industries and three steel smelting industries over their failure to meet environmental standards.

"The first action plan is temporarily close the six coal stockpile industries and three steel smelting industries that do not comply with regulations," Head of Pollution and Environmental Damage Control of the Jakarta Environmental Service, Erni Pelita Fitratunnisa, stated at the Jakarta City Hall on Friday.

According to Fitratunnisa, the temporarily closed industries are suspected of triggering an increase in air pollution in Jakarta.

She noted that the control measure was taken by the Ministry of Environment and Forestry (KLHK) or the Jakarta Environmental Service.

Fitratunnisa highlighted that industrial activities using coal as raw materials are necessitated to comply with air quality security requirements.

"That is why we are issuing administrative sanctions in the form of temporary closure," she stated.

She cautioned that if the six industries refused to fulfill the provisions for ensuring air quality within the specified time, then the regional government would seal the properties.

"If there is no improvement in environmental management, we will continue to the next stage, which is sealing and permanent closure," she remarked.

Meanwhile, three steel smelting industries were temporarily closed since these industries did not have a suitable operational certificate (SLO), Fitratunnisa noted.

She remarked that if the three industries fulfilled the SLO, as one of the requirements in environmental management, then the temporary closure would be revoked.

Apart from several industries related to coal and steel raw materials, the regional government has also temporarily closed the coconut shell charcoal industry in Lubang Buaya, East Jakarta, she stated.

Fitratunnisa noted that her side routinely monitors every industry in the Jakarta area. The monitoring is conducted in two schemes, namely passive supervision in the form of reports from the business entity and active supervision in the form of the government's survey to check the activities of each industry or company.

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Translator: Siti Nurhaliza, Resinta S
Editor: Sri Haryati
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