Jakarta, April 6 -- The Ministry of Environment has issued administrative sanctions against 67 companies across three flood-hit provinces of Sumatra for contributing to hydrometeorological disasters in the regions last year.

During a working meeting with the House of Representatives (DPR) in Jakarta on Monday, Environment Minister Hanif Faisol Nurofiq stated that the ministry had verified 175 companies in Aceh, North Sumatra, and West Sumatra.

These companies, operating in the mining, palm oil, and forest utilization sectors, were found to have cleared approximately 1,805,615 hectares of land.

He noted that of the total, sanctions in the form of government-mandated environmental audits have been issued to 22 businesses, with an additio...