City urged to revoke reservoir agreement

JAKARTA (JP): The City Council has urged the administration to revoke a cooperation agreement with private company PT Jaka Setia Sakti to develop an area surrounding the Ria Rio reservoir in Pulomas, East Jakarta, since the project had been neglected for six years.

Deputy head of Commission D for development affairs Suratto Siswodihardjo and the commission's secretary, Saud Rahman, argued on Monday that neglect over a six-month period was enough grounds for breaking a cooperation agreement.

"Why should we continue the agreement if not a bit of work has been done," he told reporters after a meeting with representatives of city-owned company PT Pulomas Jaya, which is in charge of supervising properties in the Pulomas area.

When Pulomas Jaya asked for a progress report on the Ria Rio project recently, Jaka Setia Sakti said it had not been able to resume work due to the monetary crisis, Suratto quoted Pulomas Jaya director Iman Sunaryo as saying.

"They cannot use it (economic crisis) as a reason (for the project's delay) because the development was discussed long before the crisis," he said.

A memorandum of understanding (MOU) to build a recreational park and business offices surrounding the 6-hectare Ria Rio reservoir was signed by the managements of Pulomas Jaya and Jaka Setia Sakti in 1992.

The US$120 million project, which includes a three-star hotel, four apartment towers and a recreational center, was previously scheduled to be completed next year.

The area around the reservoir, however, is now covered by hundreds of makeshift huts.

Saud said the administration should revoke the cooperation agreement as soon as possible so it could concentrate on cleaning up the reservoir to head off the possibility of massive flooding predicted to come during the monsoon season.

"The area near the reservoir is frequently hit by flooding during the rainy season. The administration should dredge the reservoir to enable it to catch more water," he said.

Suratto also said that Pulo Mas Jaya had been accommodative to people illegally occupying the company's 12 acres of idle land to farm vegetables by allowing them to stay for a fee.

He could not provide a figure being charged by the company, saying that Pulomas Jaya had not informed him.

"The fees are needed (since the land should be put to productive use)," he said.

The squatters, mostly people of nearby Kampung Ambon subdistrict, reportedly entered the company's property in the Kayu Putih subdistrict on Aug. 1 and divided up the land to grow vegetables. (ind)