Poor land-use plan causes floods: Offical<\/p>\n
Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
As the rainy weather sets in again, Jakartans have to live
\nwith its impact: floods. The annual deluge has been a problem for
\nyears and will probably still be one in the future.<\/p>\n
Governor Sutiyoso has repeatedly cited a shortage of funds and
\nblamed the topographic and climatic conditions in the city for
\nthe government's inability to tackle the problem. However, an
\nexpert said that corrupt bureaucracy played a great role in the
\ndevastating floods.<\/p>\n
"Floods in Jakarta cannot be isolated from various complex
\nproblems, especially a bad master land-use plan and its poor
\nimplementation due to the corrupt bureaucracy in the city
\nadministration," city and regional planning expert, Bhenyamin
\nHoessen, told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Bhenyamin, who is also head of the postgraduate program for
\nadministrative affairs at the University of Indonesia, said that
\nmany development projects in the city violated the master plan.<\/p>\n
Many buildings and other projects constructed were not in line
\nwith the city master plan; greenbelt areas have changed their
\nfunction and have been made into business areas; and many
\nfactories and businesses have been built in residential areas.<\/p>\n
"This occurred because bureaucrats have readily issued
\nconstruction permits for buildings in areas which were not in
\nline with the city plan as they received huge bribes," Bhenyamin
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Citing one example, he named the development of Pantai Indah
\nKapuk (PIK) exclusive residential complex in North Jakarta, that
\nwas believed to cause the frequent flooding at the nearby toll
\nroad heading to the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport.<\/p>\n
"If public interests continue to be put aside in favor of
\nbureaucrats' personal interests, city problems will never be
\nsolved."<\/p>\n
Bhenyamin also criticized non-governmental organization'
\n(NGOs) activists who frequently protected people that violated
\nthe city plan by building houses in greenbelt areas or other
\nprohibited areas.<\/p>\n
"The bureaucrats, who have issued permits have violated the
\ncity plan, and the people, who build houses in prohibited areas,
\nare targets for law enforcement that should be implemented
\nfirmly."<\/p>\n
With the Meteorology and Geophysics Agency (BMG) forecasting
\nmore heavy rains for Thursday and without contingency plans from
\nthe administration, except rubber dinghies to evacuate flood
\nvictims, many Jakartans have no other option but to live with the
\nfloods.<\/p>\n
Chairman of the City Council Commission D, responsible for
\ndevelopment affairs, Sayogo Hendrosubroto said a comprehensive
\nsolution to the flood problem must be found alongside other
\nproblems in the city.<\/p>\n
"The deluge that affected over 100 areas in Jakarta on Monday
\nwas due to garbage that clogged the drainage system in those
\nareas. Therefore, the administration must solve the problems of
\ngarbage and flooding side by side."<\/p>\n
Bimo Hastoro, another city councillor of Commission D, said
\nthe administration did not give priority to flood control as it
\nhad only allocated Rp 294 billion (US$28.27 million) in the
\nproposed 2002 budget. The figure is slightly higher than last
\nyear's Rp 290 billion.<\/p>\n
Sutiyoso has frequently claimed his administration would not
\nbe able to resolve the flood problem in the near future due to a
\nshortage of finances and the fact that many areas in the capital
\nlay below sea level.<\/p>\n
The administration plans to improve the 11-kilometer East
\nFlood Canal and build a 23-kilometer West Flood Canal to ease the
\nflood problem. Head of Public Works (PU) Office Suena did not
\nspecify the total budget needed for the construction but only
\nsaid that for land acquisition, the administration would need Rp
\n1.2 trillion.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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