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.