City to have illumination agency
JAKARTA (JP): The Jakarta Legislative Council passed a bill Friday on the setting up of the city's illumination agency to accelerate the installation of street lamps in the five mayoralties.
"The formation of the illumination agency is also expected to reduce the dirty condition in slum areas," said Jakarta Governor Surjadi Soedirdja, in his speech at the council's plenary session.
The speech was read by City Secretary Harun Al Rasyid.
Surjadi said the city is still facing problems with the illumination facilities on the streets, because it should consult with the city's planning board for approval.
"The city's illumination project should adjust to the characteristic of the city's development," Surjadi said, adding that 1.5 million people here live in 2,885 hectares of slum areas.
Before the formation of the illumination agency, the city's street illumination project was handled by an office under the administration. With the formation of the agency, each mayoralty can handle its own illumination program.
Harun said the administration had set a target of installing 273,448 street lamps on the city's streets.
"Currently, the city has installed 81,214 street lamps only," Harun said, adding that the target is expected to be achieved by the year 2000.
Councilor Ratih Ratna Purnama lamented the slow repair of street lamps, saying the new office should regularly patrol the streets and immediately repair any lamps which are out of order.
"The collection of the illumination tax from people who do not use electricity from the state-owned electricity company PT PLN is expected to accelerate the development of illumination facilities," said Ratih, a member of the Indonesian Democratic Party faction.
Until now, development of the city's illumination facilities is still depending on the administration.
Data at the illumination office shows that every year, 60 percent of the lamps are required by the administration for residential areas, while the remaining 40 percent are for street lamps. (ste)