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President tasks Luhut with coordinating pollution-mitigation efforts
The President made the decision in a limited cabinet meeting on late Monday.
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Coordinating Maritime Affairs and Investment Minister Luhut Pandjaitan. (JP/Seto Wardhana)
P
resident Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has assigned Coordinating Maritime Affairs and Investment Minister Luhut Panjaitan as coordinator for the government’s inter-departmental efforts to curb the air pollution currently engulfing Jakarta and its surrounding areas.
The President made the decision in a limited cabinet meeting late on Monday.
Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya Bakar said the decision to give Luhut the job was due to the complexity of the work involved in curbing air pollution, including the cloud-seeding efforts currently favored by the government to bring about quick results.
"We need to understand that to modify the weather we need clouds and we should have all requirements demanded by climatology. Overall, operationally this will be led by the Coordinating Maritime Affairs and Investment Minister Luhut Binsar Panjaitan," Siti told a press briefing after the cabinet meeting.
Siti added that the government would roll out a number of initiatives to reduce the level of pollution in the capital and the surrounding area.
"The President has ordered the planting of large trees immediately," Siti said.
Siti also announced that her ministry had sanctioned 11 industrial firms for failing to meet operational standards as the government moves to deal with major pollution spikes in Jakarta.
