Councill probes Mangga Dua Square

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The City Council said over the weekend that in the construction of Mangga Dua Square (MDS) wholesale center in Pademangan district, North Jakarta a bylaw on public order had been violated.

"We want to know the legal grounds for the conversion of a street alongside Ciliwung river into a parking lot for the wholesale center," said Rois Hadayana Syaugie of the council's Commission A during a hearing with officials from the North Jakarta administration last Friday.

Commission A oversees administration, security and public order, and government affairs in the capital.

Rois said that according to Bylaw No. 11/1988 on public order, construction alongside rivers is prohibited, including on streets.

He said the 13-meter-long street by Ciliwung river was vital in flood mitigation and monitoring.

Councillor Vike Very Ponto said the developer had built no public facilities near the wholesale center.

"The developer should build supporting facilities for the public, like pedestrian bridges so that people can safely cross Jl. Gunung Sahari," Vike said.

He said the council had received complaints from residents over the increased number of traffic accidents near the wholesale center as the developer had raised only one lane of the two-lane road and had not built a pedestrian bridge.

Another councillor Perdata Tambunan said residents had also complained the raised lane and higher level of the center made the area prone to flooding.

Commission A had told the management of Mangga Dua Square to delay the opening of the center last July 18, but the demand was ignored.

North Jakarta administration secretary Asri Ilyas, however, denied the allegations, citing that Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso had approved the development.

"The use of the space on the riverbank for parking, for instance, was authorized in a gubernatorial decree," he said.

The management of Mangga Dua Square was not present at the hearing.

"The board of directors did not show up as they were very busy," said MDS public relations manager AJ Sutaktanto.

Councillor Thamrin was critical of the directors' absence, calling it a "contempt of their summonses".

The commission has rescheduled for Wednesday the hearing with the MDS directors.