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)