Budget for Marunda dump rejected<\/p>\n
Ahmad Junaidi, The Jakarta Post, Puncak, West Java<\/p>\n
The city council rejected on Thursday a proposed budget
\naddition of Rp 18.5 billion for the construction of a refuse
\ndisposal site in Marunda, North Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Chairman of the council's Commission D for development affairs
\nSayogo Hendrosubroto of the Indonesian Democratic Party of
\nStruggle said the decision was made not only because of the local
\nresidents' rejection of the dump, but also the unclear legal
\nstatus of the 71-hectare site.<\/p>\n
Hundreds of Marunda residents had twice visited the City Hall,
\nprotesting the planned development of the dump.<\/p>\n
The land previously belonged to the State Logistics Agency
\n(Bulog), but was taken over by the prosecutor's office after a
\nland-swap scandal involving former president Soeharto's youngest
\nson Hutomo \"Tommy\" Mandala Putra.<\/p>\n
Another councillor Mukhayar of the Justice Party suggested
\nthat the administration should invest in incinerators.<\/p>\n
\"For the near future, incinerators would be the best choice. A
\nnew garbage dump would need six months of construction time,\"
\nMukhayar said.<\/p>\n
Separately, acting chief of the City Sanitation Agency Irzal
\nDjamal said the administration would prepare other alternatives
\nafter the rejection of the Marunda dump.<\/p>\n
The administration had earlier prepared a 60-hectare dump in
\nthe Tegal Alur area of West Jakarta, and allocated Rp 10 billion
\nfrom the 2002 City Budget for the project, but that also fell
\nthrough.<\/p>\n
It is now considering a purchase of three incinerators worth
\nRp 250 million each.<\/p>\n
It was rumored that the council suggested the use of
\nincinerators because certain members were willing to act as
\nbrokers for the expensive purchases.<\/p>\n
Serious trash problems in the city came to a head late last
\nyear after the temporary closure of the city's main dump at
\nBantar Gebang in Bekasi, and the issue is not resolved as Bekasi
\nis threatening to close it again on Jan. 31, if the city fails to
\nmeet Bekasi's demands for the use of the site.<\/p>\n
The city, meanwhile, still expects that Bekasi will allow the
\ncity to dump its 25,000 cubic meters of trash per day in Bantar
\nGebang.<\/p>\n
\"We are still negotiating with Bekasi. We hope we
\ncan continue our cooperation,\" Irzal said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/budget-for-marunda-dump-rejected-1447893297",
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