Flood control not seriously addressed in city budget
Ahmad Junaidi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The city councillors were disappointed with Governor Sutiyoso for not making the flood control program a top priority in the proposed 2002 City Budget.
Deputy chairman of Commission D for development affairs, Bimo Hastoro, was of the view that the flood control projects worth Rp 294 billion (about US$29 million) allocated in the budget would not be enough to solve the flood problem.
"The administration should put the flood problem in the category of a 'crash program'. It should allocate more money to handle the problem," Bimo of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle said Tuesday.
He suggested that the administration use the city's emergency fund, amounting to Rp 600 billion, for flood projects.
The Emergency fund has been collected from city budget surpluses since 1999.
The city administration proposed Rp 294 billion for flood control projects this year, a slight increase from last year's Rp 290 billion.
According to the proposed budget, the fund would be used to continue the development of the East Flood Canal, the widening of city rivers and purchasing water pumps.
Sutiyoso admitted that the lack of funds had limited flood control projects, but said that the projects would be started again gradually.
"We need Rp 1.2 trillion alone for the East Canal land appropriation," he told reporters while inspecting the flood from the toll road in North Jakarta.
About 230 hectares of land are required for the development of the East Flood Canal.
Last year, he said, the city allocated Rp 40 billion for land appropriation, but only Rp 20 billion was spent due to the high price of the land.
Along with the 17-kilometer West Flood Canal which was built during Dutch colonial times, the 23-kilometer East Canal would be able to accommodate the city's 13 rivers before the water flows to the Jakarta sea.
The governor repeatedly reiterated the fact that 40 percent of Jakarta, or 24,000 square meters of land, is located on low land, as the reason for the floods.
So, he rejected on Tuesday a suggestion that the emergency fund should be used for the flood program.
While the flood control funds are only slightly increased in the Rp 8.9 trillion proposed budget, there are other programs which will see a high increase of funds, including the public order office.
The administration suggested a 50 percent increase for the public order office from Rp 40 billion last year to Rp 60 billion this year.
It was believed that Sutiyoso planned to sharply increase it because he is often criticized by councillors for failing to uphold public order.