Autonomy often leads central, local government to feud

Autonomy often leads central, local government to feud

The ongoing saga between the city administration and State
Minister of the Environment Nabiel Makarim is just another
example of a dispute between central and regional administrations
over who gets the last word in implementing regional autonomy.

"It's the public who has the final say," said Ryaas Rasyid,
the father of the concept of regional autonomy, during his tenure
as the minister of regional autonomy under Abdurrahman Wahid's
administration.

"This kind of dispute should not be resolved among the
political elite only, especially because it is the residents who
will bear the impact of any policies that are implemented," he
said in a recent interview with The Jakarta Post.

Law No. 22/1999 on regional autonomy, which took effect in
2000, empowers a regional administration to manage its resources
without having to seek the approval of the central government.

However, Ryaas said, the same law also requires the central
government to give suggestions concerning particular issues,
including environmental affairs.

Nabiel's decree, which was issued on Feb. 19, consists of the
results of an assessment made by the Central Environmental Impact
Analysis (Amdal) Commission on the city's plan to reclaim 2,700
hectares of the northern coast of Jakarta.

The decree was made to reject an earlier analysis submitted by
the city administration-sanctioned Water Front City Management
(PB Pantura). This analysis had given the administration the
green light to move ahead with the megaproject.

The project is for the construction of a luxury housing
complex, hotels, an industrial zone, a port, shopping malls,
offices and recreational sites. It is expected to be completed in
30 years.

Nabiel's office assessed that the reclamation would cause a
number of environmental and social problems, not only for the
area but the entire city as well.

Ryaas suggested holding a public discussion to assess the plan
and have residents, experts, non-governmental organizations
concerned with the environment and the social impact, city
officials and representatives from Nabiel's office take part in
it.

"During the discussion, someone might come up with a technical
way out to settle the dispute, which could ease fears over
environmental damage and the resulting social problems, while the
city administration could give an update on its estimate of the
project's cost," he said.

Ryaas' suggestion was shared by Jan Sopaheluwakan, an expert
of coastal studies at the Indonesian Institute of Sciences
(LIPI).

Sopaheluwakan said any technical solution adopted to approve
the project would only raise new social and economic problems for
both the coastal area residents and people living near the
waterways or in the reservoir area.

"The construction of a waterway diversion, canals or pumps to
accelerate the water in reaching the sea means having to relocate
people. The reservoir area, which has been converted into housing
complexes or business zones, would have to be returned to its
original function," he told the Post.

"I wonder why the city administration did not consult the
experts and all the stakeholders on this," he added.

Governor Sutiyoso had stated that he would organize a public
debate on the reclamation project of the north Jakarta coastal
area. But when the event was held last month, it turned out that
the public debate was a discussion featuring speakers from the
city administration and the offices of the State Minister of the
Environment, while many experts and critics of the project were
not invited.