Singapore issues three new legal notices to firms responsible for haze fires

[SINGAPORE] The National Environment Agency (NEA) has sent three new preventive measure notices to three companies in Indonesia that have been identified as sources of the haze affecting Singapore.

Buana Megatama Jaya, Mananjung Hayak and Baratama Putra Perkasa have been issued notices, said NEA on Monday (Oct 19). They join the seven companies that received the notice on Friday under Section 9 of the Transboundary Haze Pollution Act.

“There are indications that smoke from fires in Kalimantan on lands held via concessions under three additional companies in Indonesia could have moved to Singapore,” noted NEA.

A concession is land that a company has been granted the right to use or develop, with the concession holder being responsible for the management of the land.

The three companies, as well as the original seven, will have to deploy fire-fighting personnel to extinguish or prevent the spread of any fire on land owned or occupied by them, said NEA.

The companies will also have to discontinue, or not commence, any burning activities on such land and submit to NEA any plan of action to extinguish any fire on such land or to prevent its recurrence.

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Singapore registered 12 days of “unhealthy” Pollutant Standards Index readings in a row until Friday – the longest continuous stretch of poor air quality in the country since a 14-day streak in 2015.

Still, some relief was present on Monday. One-hour readings of PM2.5 pollutant particles were in the “normal” range as at noon islandwide, with air quality also improving to “moderate” levels in three regions for the first time in 10 days.

Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu on Friday said Singaporeans should be prepared for the haze to “persist for some time”, with conditions expected to improve in late October or early November. That is when Singapore will experience the inter-monsoon period and more variable wind directions will reduce the likelihood of the haze being blown here from Sumatra or Kalimantan, she noted.