Councill probes Mangga Dua Square

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.