Aceh – Indonesia, The Aceh Provincial Government has proposed the provision of at least four excavators under a borrow-and-use scheme for flood-prone regencies and cities. The proposal was presented by Aceh Vice Governor Fadhlullah, also known as Dek Fadh, during a follow-up meeting on river basin management and handling with the central government on Friday, October 2, 2026.
Chaired by the Secretary-General of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Com Gen. Tomsi Tohir, the meeting addressed several critical agendas, including preventive measures against follow-up disasters, strengthening early warning systems, and accelerating infrastructure recovery in affected areas.
The meeting was also attended by relevant ministries and agencies, regional leaders, and disaster management officials from each affected region.
During the meeting, Vice Governor Dek Fadh stated that having heavy equipment available locally is essential to speed up disaster response when floods occur, particularly for river dredging and normalization.
According to Dek Fadh, regency and municipal governments could utilize Unforeseen Expenditure (BTT) funds to support operational costs, enabling faster on-the-ground response.
“We propose a solution where flood-prone regencies and cities are provided with heavy equipment, at least four excavators under a borrow-and-use arrangement. This way, when flooding occurs, local governments can act immediately since regional leaders best understand their area’s conditions and needs,” he said.
He explained that this need stems from the condition of several rivers in Aceh that have suffered from siltation and altered watercourses during recent floods.
Dek Fadh added that these conditions have impacted newly rebuilt post-disaster infrastructure, such as two bridges recently completed by the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) that were damaged again by recent flooding.
Furthermore, the Vice Governor highlighted the need to adjust the Environmental Impact Assessment (AMDAL) mechanism during emergency situations.
He suggested simplifying the river management protocol during emergencies to prevent urgent recovery operations from being delayed by lengthy administrative procedures that hinder field response.
“For emergency situations, we hope there is a mechanism to simplify field operations, such as through authorization from the command post chief or task force leader, acknowledged by relevant ministries and agencies. The priority is that action can be taken immediately,” he urged.
Responding to the proposal, the Commander of the Acceleration Task Force for Rehabilitation and Reconstruction (Satgas PRR) stated that the feedback would be followed up. He also requested local governments in regencies and cities to complete their data collection to ensure disaster response is executed efficiently and targeted accurately.