JAKARTA, thekabarnews.com—Indonesian government has completed a two-stage transfer of Rp1.235 trillion (US$74.8 million) to support emergency responses to forest and land fires (karhutla) across seven provinces.

The government transferred the second tranche on Thursday, Oct. 22, following an initial disbursement on Sept. 7. The government reportedly disbursed Rp760 billion in the first tranche and about Rp475 billion in the second.

“Today, the central government’s second tranche has been transferred. Total assistance from the central government amounts to Rp1.235 trillion,” Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture Sugiono said in a written statement.

The funding covers South Sumatra, Jambi, Central Kalimantan, West Kalimantan, South Kalimantan, East Kalimantan and Riau. The first-stage program also covered 35 affected regency and municipal administrations, although the government’s public statement did not provide a recipient-by-recipient allocation.

Authorities set three broad priorities for the funding. The first covers health services and protection for people exposed to smoke, including oxygen centers and treatment for acute respiratory infections.

The second priority supports firefighting equipment, including protective gear, pumps, water tanks and hoses. Funding can also cover peat-injection equipment and the construction of boreholes in areas where surface water is difficult to access.

“The next priority is firefighting and efforts to control forest and land fires,” Sugiono said.

“This includes additional personal protective equipment, water pumps, tanks, hoses, peatland water-injection equipment and boreholes.”

The third area covers logistics and operational costs for personnel deployed to fire zones. Sugiono said the assistance should help accelerate the emergency response while improving protection for affected communities.

“This assistance is expected to speed up the forest and land fire emergency response, help affected communities as much as possible and demonstrate the government’s determination to address the crisis,” he said.

The National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) reported that 71,878 personnel had been mobilized across six priority provinces as of Oct. 21.

The operation included ground teams and 51 helicopters assigned to patrols, water bombing and weather-modification support. East Kalimantan received central funding but was outside BNPB’s six-province priority grouping in that operational update.

Health protection has become increasingly urgent. The Coordinating Human Development and Culture Ministry recorded about 295,000 acute respiratory infection cases in affected provinces by Oct. 15. It also said smoke disrupted face-to-face learning for 7.9 million students across 100 regencies and cities.

Gerindra, President Prabowo Subianto’s political party, publicly endorsed the funding and the government’s response. That political support, however, is separate from the administrative task of documenting how local governments spend the money.

Publication of regional allocations, procurement records and measurable results will be necessary to assess the package. The value of the assistance will ultimately depend on whether equipment and health services reach communities and responders while fires remain active.