Bojong treatment plant trial called off, again

Bojong treatment plant trial called off, again

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Jakarta and Bogor administrations were forced to call off a
planned trial of the Bojong waste treatment plant on Monday in
the face of fierce protests by residents on Saturday.

Residents of Bojong, Klapanunggal subdistrict, drove away
Bogor Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Muhamad Taufik and several of
his officers on Saturday morning. The officers were attempting to
inform residents of the planned trial on Monday.

"We told the police that they did not have any authority to
interfere in this problem. Their main job is to ensure security.
The authority is in the hands of the Bogor regency council," said
Naih, one of the residents.

Residents are prepared to use violence should the Bojong
management insist on operating the plant, he added.

The head of the operations division at the Bogor Police, Comr.
T. Nurdin A., said the police had recommend another delay in the
trial.

"The Bogor Police chief has sent a letter stating that the
trial of the Bojong plant should be delayed until opposition by
residents abates," he was quoted as saying by Antara.

Sofyan Hadi Wijaya, the president director of PT Wira Guna
Sejahtera, which manages the plant, said the company was still
discussing with the Jakarta administration whether to go ahead
with the trial.

"We are still monitoring the situation in the field," he said.

PT Wira Guna Sejahtera had planned to carry out the trial on
Monday after residents of seven kampongs around the plant forced
the cancellation of three earlier trials in August, October and
on Nov. 1.

A planned trial on Oct. 4 ended in violence when thousands of
residents vandalized the plant and felled trees to block access
to the dump.

Several non-governmental organizations, including the Jakarta
chapters of the Indonesian Forum for the Environment and the
Legal Aid Institute, also oppose the operation of the plant. They
fear the plant will have an adverse impact on the environment as
well as surrounding residents.

Authorities hope the Bojong waste treatment plant can help
resolve the waste crisis in the capital and end Jakarta's
dependency to the Bantar Gebang dump in Bekasi.

The plant would be able to absorb one-third of the 6,000 tons
of waste the city produces each day.