Massive tracts of agricultural land and heavily populated villages have been submerged in hot mud since it began to flow out of the Banjar Panji-1 exploration well in Sidoarjo last May following an oil drilling accident.

The mud has continued to spew out at a rate of 100,000 cubic metres a day, despite government efforts to plug the leak.

The well, operated by Indonesian company Lapindo Brantas, is part owned by Australian company Santos, which holds an 18% stake.

Reuters last week reported that the Indonesian Government has now set up a permanent body, the Sidoarjo Mud Management Agency, chaired by a former army general, to help communities affected by the torrent of mud.

The agency replaces a temporary team, which had a seven-month tenure that ended just over a week ago.

“The new team will continue efforts to rescue citizens, to handle social and infrastructure issues around the disaster area,” Reuters quoted spokesman Andi Mallarangeng as saying.

He said a decree to set up the team issued by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono stipulated the government was responsible for covering costs related to the disaster’s social impact on people living outside the swamped areas.

A probe in March concluded that the mud began to break out to the surface because of negligence by Lapindo as it drilled the well.

The police have declared 13 people as suspects in the case, all of whom are Lapindo executives or field workers.