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.