Depok gets township status
Depok gets township status
JAKARTA (JP): The West Java Provincial Legislative Council has
approved raising the status of Depok from an administrative city
to a township.
The approval was reached in a session led by the council's
speaker H. Agus Muhyidin and was attended by West Java Vice
Governor H. Ukman Sutaryan in Bandung Tuesday.
Similar approval was also given to Cilegon.
Nanan Sutadipura, chairman of a special committee in charge of
discussing raising the two towns' status, was quoted by Antara as
saying that the establishment of Depok and Cilegon townships was
already in line with requirements set by regulation No. 5/1974.
Raising Depok and Cilegon's status is in line with the West
Java provincial government's development guidelines for the next
25 to 30 years, Sutadipura said.
"This improvement is also in line with public aspirations in
the two towns, either through the supra or the intra political
structure," he said.
Depok, which is part of Bogor regency, is northwest of Bogor
and borders the Jakarta area.
According to 1996 data, Depok, which has a total area of 6,794
hectares, has a population of 418,590 living in 23 subdistricts
controlled by three districts -- Pancoran Mas, Beji and
Sukmajaya.
Sutadipura said Depok's economic potential has been projected
to be adequate to support its administration. This was reflected
by its Rp 4 billion (US$1.63 million) contribution to Bogor's
balance of payments in the 1996/1997 fiscal year.
He said Depok is supported by its strategic position which is
utilized for residential sites, industry and education.
"This is a good asset for Depok to further increase its local
revenues," he said.
According to Sutadipura, the establishment of Depok township
was formerly proposed in two alternatives. The first alternative,
based on Bogor Regent's proposal to the West Java governor, was
the division of the township into three districts -- Pancoran
Mas, Beji and Sukmajaya with combined areas of 6,794 hectares.
The second one, based on the West Java governor to the
Minister of Home Affairs, was the division of the township into
six districts -- Beji, Pancoran Mas, Sukmajaya, Limo, Sawangan
and Cimanggis -- covering a total area of 19,744 with a
population of 820,910, Sutadipura said. (hhr)