City undecided over Marunda dmp

City undecided over Marunda dmp

Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

City Governor Sutiyoso said on Monday he was still undecided
over a plan to use Marunda in North Jakarta as a garbage dump to
replace the Bantar Gebang dump as he was still awaiting the
results of studies.

Sutiyoso said that the results of all the necessary studies,
including an environmental study, as well as a public information
campaign in respect of the plan, had yet to be received.

"I won't decide to go ahead unless the main requirements are
met," Sutiyoso told reporters at City Hall.

The administration signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU)
last week with the head of the State Logistics Agency (Bulog) to
use the agency's 71-hectare site at Marunda as a garbage dump.

Along with Marunda, the administration also claimed it was in
the process of preparing smaller dumps in the city's five
mayoralties to help in replacing the 104-hectare Bantar Gebang
dump. These smaller dumps included Tegal Alur and Kamal in West
Jakarta.

Sutiyoso had said earlier that the administration was also
eying Bangka island, which lies to the east of South Sumatra, to
take some 4,000 tons of the city's total garbage, which currently
stands at 6,000 tons per day. The garbage would be dumped in
disused tin mines on the island.

As of Monday, however, none of the planned alternative dumps
were able to receive garbage due to protests by residents in
their respective vicinities.

"In addition to the above alternatives, we are trying to
proceed with further negotiations with Bekasi municipality. Our
objective is to use Bantar Gebang until the end of this year,"
Sutiyoso said, adding that the existing MoU between Bekasi
municipality and the city administration would, in fact, only
expire at the end of 2003.

Sutiyoso also said that the administration would "gradually"
comply with the demands of the Bekasi municipality based upon
rational consideration and mutual benefit.

The administration plans to allocate Rp 233.5 billion this
year to cope with the city's environmental and spatial planning
problems, including the tackling of its garbage problem.

At present, some 5,000 tons of the city's garbage are taken to
the city's main dump at Bantar Gebang, while the remaining 1,000
tons are dumped alongside roads or in rivers.

The Bekasi municipality closed Bantar Gebang dump on Dec. 10
last year due to environmental concerns. After intervention from
the Ministry of Home Affairs and the House of Representatives, it
allowed the dump to reopen while awaiting measures by the Jakarta
administration to comply with the terms of a new MoU to be signed
by Jan. 31 at the latest.