Authority needed to supervise city plan: Wiyogo
Authority needed to supervise city plan: Wiyogo
JAKARTA (JP): Former Jakarta governor Wiyogo Atmodarminto
yesterday criticized the absence of an authority to oversee the
Greater Jakarta city plan.
Wiyogo, who governed Jakarta from 1987 to 1992, said the
authority would help prevent conflicts of interest between
Jakarta and surrounding townships under the West Java
administration.
"It's up to the central government to decide whether the
authority is given to a minister or a governor," he said after
attending a ceremony at City Council to install Jakarta's new
governor. "But there should be an authority to assure better
management in Greater Jakarta developments."
He said that under one authority there would be better
coordination and less violation of the city plan, which is being
reviewed by a team under the auspices of the National Development
Planning Board (Bappenas).
"If the authority is not being formed, the city plan will be
useless. Realize it or not, our weakness is in implementation."
The establishment of the Bappenas team was just a step toward
enhancing the coordination of development both in Jakarta and
West Java, he said.
"It's a pity if such an effort is not backed by an authority
to control it," Wiyogo said.
The team will reevaluate and suggest adjustments to the
Presidential Instruction No. 13/1976 on Greater Jakarta's
development plans based on current conditions and future
predictions.
The team is also required to prepare a draft presidential
decree on integrated city plans for certain areas in Greater
Jakarta and then present it to the National Spatial Plan
Coordination Board and the Jakarta and West Java governors.
Wiyogo urged the central government to pay serious attention
to problems in Jakarta because of the absence of a detailed plan
for Greater Jakarta.
"Jakarta's problems should be considered national problems and
become the central government's first priority," he said. "Now,
the city is already facing water shortages due to a series of
violations of the city plan."
He was referring to the construction of residential sites in
South Jakarta, which was a designated water catchment area in the
city plan.
The administration is in the process of finalizing the
revision of the 1985/2005 city plan in preparation for the
1997/2010 plan. The revision is intended to meet development
needs.
West Java Governor Nuriana, who also attended yesterday's
ceremony, said that Bappenas' coordination team was expected to
come up with an integrated city plan for Greater Jakarta.
However, he said, the team was only responsible for the plan's
revision and it does not "control the governors".
His administration's budget is not adequate to solve the
problems which affect Jakarta and West Java, such as traffic
congestion caused by commuters living in Bogor, Tangerang and
Bekasi but working in Jakarta.
"I hope the Jakarta administration and central government can
work together to solve the problems," Nuriana said.
For instance, they could cooperate in building alternative
roads to prevent further traffic congestion during rush hours, he
said.
He expects that the newly installed Jakarta governor,
Sutiyoso, will enhance development cooperation with West Java.
"I expect him to continue what we've started, such as good
cooperation with BKSP Jabotabek," Nuriana said.
BKSP Jabotabek was the only agency responsible for the
coordination of the development programs in Jakarta and its
surrounding areas in West Java.
BKSP will assist the Bappenas team prepare Greater Jakarta's
city plan. (ste)