Council may OK test for vehicular emissions

Council may OK test for vehicular emissions

Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Several members of the City Council's Commission D were puffing
away on cigarettes when an activist from the Coalition for Clean
Air said indoor pollution produced by, among other things,
cigarettes posed a greater health risk than outdoor pollution.

The smoking councillors were temporarily nonplussed, but were
able to recover sufficiently to puff away through the rest of the
meeting.

Such was the scene when the 15 members of Commission D met
with activists from the Coalition for Clean Air to discuss the
draft bylaw on air pollution.

The coalition called on the council to make the draft "more
applicable", with detailed, complete and straightforward
stipulations and heavier sanctions for violators.

"The bylaw must explicitly oblige residents to have their
vehicles regularly checked," said activist Ari Muhammad.

Environmentalists have called for mandatory emission tests for
cars operating in the city to help curb air pollution. Vehicular
emissions account for 70 percent of air pollution in Jakarta.

The draft bylaw Governor Sutiyoso submitted to the City
Council two weeks ago sets emission standards but does not
explicitly require vehicles to be tested.

Currently, only public transportation vehicles and cargo
trucks are required to undergo an emission test. Owners of
private vehicles are only advised to have their vehicles checked,
with no sanctions should the owners fail to have the vehicles
tested.

The coalition deplored the fact that the draft does not
provide details on how the administration will monitor the
implementation of the bylaw to ensure the compliance of
residents.

Councillor Denny Talloga of the Democratic Party faction
welcomed the coalition's criticisms and promised that the
commission would work to include its suggestions in the bylaw.

"We have to be sterner and firmer in upholding environmental
regulations because failure to comply with the rules poses a
serious threat to future generations," he said.

He said he would seek to have the fine for polluters increased
to Rp 50 million (US$5,555) from the proposed Rp 5 million.

Another councillor, Muhayar of the Prosperous Justice Party
faction (PKS), said his faction would press the administration to
go ahead with plans to require all public transportation vehicles
to use environmentally friendly compressed natural gas (CNG)
instead of diesel fuel or gasoline, which produce higher levels
of pollutants.

"Of course, we will also urge the administration to ensure
that most gas stations in the city are equipped with CNG pumps to
ensure a continuous supply of CNG," he said.

Jakarta has 17 CNG stations but only seven are currently
operational because of a lack of demand.

A recent survey found at least 500 taxi cabs from the Kosti
Group use CNG. However, most of the cabs are too old and are not
equipped to use CNG.