Regional autonomy may hinder Jakarta's action against floods<\/p>\n
Bambang Nurbianto and Rendi A. Witular, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The Jakarta administration is unable to make comprehensive
\ndecisions to handle the flood problems alone because the main
\nrivers in the city originate in the hills of West Java province,
\nand the areas which are meant to be buffer zones for the city
\nalso lie outside of Jakarta's jurisdiction.<\/p>\n
One of the shortcomings of the Autonomy Law was that there was
\nno central control over issues that affect multiple regencies and
\nprovinces, so a comprehensive solution for the floods could be
\ndifficult to achieve, a minister said on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
\"Each separate administration has its own interests which
\ncould hinder efforts to solve flooding in Jakarta,\" Resettlement
\nand Regional Infrastructure Minister Soenarno told a seminar
\nwhich was focused on flood problems in the capital.<\/p>\n
Apart from the poor environmental management in Jakarta,
\nflooding in the capital is also worsened by the destruction of
\ncatchment areas in West Java, particularly in Bogor, Puncak and
\nCianjur.<\/p>\n
Director of Water Resources at the ministry, Basuki
\nHadimulyono, revealed the difficulties in trying to synchronize
\nthe interests of each administration.<\/p>\n
Basuki gave an example of the Cianjur administration, which
\nhad received around Rp 2 billion last year for issuing building
\npermits (IMB), therefore, due to greed, the effort to curb new
\nconstruction in the region often ends in failure.<\/p>\n
\"Cianjur does not want to lose a cash cow for the interests of
\nJakarta, so Jakarta may be required to pay compensation to
\nCianjur if they want assistance,\" he suggested.<\/p>\n
In trying to resolve the problem, Soenarno said that the
\ncentral government was now trying to reintroduce the concept of
\n\"one river, one plan\", involving certain institutions of the
\nrelated administrations.<\/p>\n
The designation of Bogor, Puncak and Cianjur - known as
\nBopunjur - as a catchment area for Jakarta was first proposed by
\npresident Soekarno with the issuance of a decree in 1963.<\/p>\n
The decree was revised several times, but it still maintained
\nthe function of Bopunjur to protect Jakarta from floods.<\/p>\n
But beginning in the 1980s, developers started to erect many
\nnew buildings in those areas which caused serious environmental
\ndamage and exacerbated flooding.<\/p>\n
As a result, the newly developed areas could no longer contain
\nthe water during the rainy season, water which eventually flows
\nto Jakarta via the Ciliwung and Pasanggrahan rivers.<\/p>\n
Separately, Laode Ida from the Indonesian Forum for Budget
\nTransparency, shared Soenarno's opinion, saying that the
\nintegrated efforts by the related administrations is badly
\nneeded.<\/p>\n
But, he added, it should not only involve the Bogor and
\nCianjur administrations, but also Depok, Tangerang and Bekasi.<\/p>\n
\"We also appealed to the government to restore the catchment
\nareas and buffer zones in those cities. This means that we have
\nto take some radical steps and destroy large numbers of housing
\ncompounds and buildings\", said Laode.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/regional-autonomy-may-hinder-jakartas-action-against-floods-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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