Getting more polluted<\/p>\n
When Director General for Land Transportation Iskandar
\nAbubakar launched the idea of having all private vehicles undergo
\na roadworthiness test in 2003, he was met with strong resistance
\nfrom the public. There was widespread suspicion that the test
\nwould be a ruse to extort money from motorists.<\/p>\n
Tests for roadworthiness have been enforced for years but only
\non commercial and public transport vehicles. However, the only
\ntesting station in East Jakarta has become a den of bribery. Car
\nowners prefer to bribe the officials in charge to get a
\ncertificate for their vehicles, which in fact should not be given
\none due to their poor condition.<\/p>\n
A road worthiness test, including an emission test, would be
\nan appropriate way to curb the already serious levels of air
\npollution in Jakarta. And Abubakar seemed to have found the best
\nway to help keep Jakarta's air clean. The problem is that the
\nvehicle road worthiness test has become a profitable illegal
\nbusiness for the officials in charge.<\/p>\n
Tests for vehicles for commercial use is no doubt a total
\nfailure, and the test for private cars planned by Abubakar has
\nbeen aborted. The obvious result is that there are run-down and
\nnoisy vehicles, mostly city buses, emitting clouds of thick black
\nsmoke from their exhaust pipes freely plying the city streets.<\/p>\n
Jakarta, the third most polluted city in the world after
\nBangkok and Mexico City, urgently needs to do something to curb
\nair pollution.<\/p>\n
With at least 2.5 million private cars, 3.8 million
\nmotorcycles and 255,000 public transportation vehicles traversing
\nthe city streets every day (according to 2004 official records),
\nthe capital needs a serious commitment from its citizens and its
\nadministrator to clean up the city's air.<\/p>\n
Official records showed in 2003 that the city had 1.2 million
\nprivate cars and 2.3 million motorcycles.<\/p>\n
Moves and campaigns for clean air have been launched. The Blue
\nSky program which encouraged motorists to use unleaded gasoline
\nhad apparently failed, with no single institution claiming
\nresponsible for the failure. With poor law enforcement,
\nviolations of Law No. 14 on traffic and land transportation
\ncontinue, despite harsh punishment stipulated by the law.<\/p>\n
Article 54 of the 13-year-old law says, states, among other
\nthings, that anyone operating a vehicle that is not roadworthy is
\nsubject to three months in jail or a maximum fine of Rp 3
\nmillion. The law, which drew controversy when deliberated by the
\nHouse of Representatives, also stipulates that those violating
\nthe tolerable emission limits are subject to a two-month jail
\nsentence or a Rp 2 million fine. Surprisingly, there have been no
\nreports of motorists jailed or fined for those offenses, as
\nviolations can be settled illegally on the street.<\/p>\n
Though vehicles are not the only contributors to air pollution
\nin the capital, it is quite clear that the administrator's
\nseriousness in curbing air pollution is questionable.<\/p>\n
The five air monitors now standing at separate points in
\nJakarta display inaccurate, outdated data. A researcher of the
\nBandung Institute of Technology (ITB) has revealed that the air
\npollution indexes displayed by the monitors are years out of
\ndate, therefore they could not function as an early warning
\ninstrument for the public. Maintenance is another serious matter.
\nThis means that the exact level of air pollution in Jakarta is
\nthus unknown. If that is the case, how can air pollution be dealt
\nwith properly?<\/p>\n
The researcher also said that the city of 12 million people
\nneeded at least 60 monitors, not five. It is not surprising then
\nthat a South Korean professor who visited Jakarta at the end of
\nApril said that Jakarta was more polluted now compared to when he
\nfirst visited the city five years ago. \"The most noticeable
\nchange I found was the level of (air) pollution in Jakarta. It
\nhas become much worse,\" said the academician who has traveled
\nmany big cities around the world.<\/p>\n
Sharing his experience when he visited India, he said that New
\nDelhi, which is like Jakarta in terms of pollution and was badly
\npolluted several years ago, is now much cleaner. The New Delhi
\nadministration now uses the European standard emission limit, and
\nin the future, they will improve on the standard, he said.<\/p>\n
If the New Delhi administration can make their city cleaner,
\nwhy can't Jakarta?<\/p>\n
We have to admit, whether we like it or not, that poor law
\nenforcement is the main contributor to the failure of efforts to
\nreduce air pollution. And, we are all aware that poor law
\nenforcement is a reflection of poor leadership within the
\nadministration.<\/p>\n
Therefore, the administrator should be held responsibility for
\nthe failure. The promulgation of a bylaw on air pollution control
\non Feb. 4, 2005 and political rhetoric are meaningless, unless
\nlaw enforcement, including actions against fraudulent officials,
\nis toughened.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/getting-more-polluted-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}