City Hall promises to consult House on major projects
City Hall promises to consult House on major projects
JAKARTA (JP): Governor Surjadi Soedirdja assured yesterday
that no major development project in the city will start without
prior consultation with the House of Representatives.
Surjadi said in hearing with House Commission X, which deals
with national development planning, that any project deviating
from the city plan will be discussed with the legislative body.
The governor is in the national spotlight for his mammoth
projects, such as the planned reclamation of over 3,600 hectares
of northern coast and the construction of the US$285 million
Manggarai integrated terminal.
"We are aware of the regulation and we will consult with the
House in August or September, regarding the land reclamation
plan, because currently, the city administration is still
reviewing the scheme with the National Development Planning
Board," Surjadi said.
Surjadi was responding to criticism for not discussing major
plans with the House, as required in a 1992 law.
He added that the city administration is yet to draft a decree
on reclamation and that the 1985-2005 city plan is under review,
to accommodate the huge projects.
Legislator Palar Batubara, from the ruling Golkar party,
warned on the possible social, environmental, economical and
political impacts of the land reclamation plan, as well as the
Manggarai terminal project.
"The city administration should conduct comprehensive research
to prevent social, economic and politic problems that could
emerge from these projects," Batubara said.
He added that city administration should also guarantee that
the projects would benefit the public and not victimize the
affected residents, who have to surrender their property.
"The main goal of the projects is to rearrange the city and
improve the people's welfare, and we will try the best we can to
minimize the negative impact," Surjadi said, adding that some
conflict in implementation of the plan would likely occur.
He explained that in an effort to avoid a dispute between
developers and residents in the land appropriation process, the
city administration has formed a formula to set land
compensation, based on the current taxable property value.
However, Surjadi said, there will always be problems in
conducting the projects because certain people will take
advantage of them. "I bet brokers are already in action in
Manggarai," he added.
Surjadi assured that city administration will conduct an
environmental impact analysis, before implementing the
reclamation, to protect the environment in the Seribu Islands.
The reclaimed land will belong to the government and will be
leased to private businesses, who will be permitted to build
there.
"The (reclamation) plan will include relocation of fishermen's
residential areas, where low-cost apartments will be built for
them," Surjadi said.
The reclamation project will commence early next year.(yns)