Gas stations defy land use plan, operate in greenbelt
Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The city administration's decision to extend permits for 32 gas stations on green areas across the capital has received sharp criticism.
Former environment minister Sony Keraff said there was no reason for the city administration to extend the permits as they violated the zoning set out in the city's land-use plan.
"The administration should have the guts to crack down on violations of the city's land-use plan, instead of extending their permits," Sony told The Jakarta Post on Friday.
"The recent floods provided strong evidence that the result of violations against the city's land-use plan caused misery for a lot of people," Sony said, referring to the floods in January and February that affected over 300,000 people.
According to data from the City Parks Agency, there used to be 36 gas stations located on green zones, but four of them have been demolished. The remaining 32 occupy more than five hectares of land.
The permits were issued by the city administration between 1949 and 1997.
Most of the permits expired in 1994. A source at City Hall said the extension of those permits were made in 1999 and would be valid for 25 years.
City Governor Sutiyoso said on Friday that his administration extended the permits because the gas stations were popular.
"I could actually demolish all the gas stations that lie on green areas but I haven't done that because the public still need them," Sutiyoso said.
One of two gas stations located on Jl. Sudirman belong to Taufik Kiemas, the husband of President Megawati Soekarnoputri.
Sony said Sutiyoso's argument was only an excuse for his weakness in trying to enforce the law.
"I think the city administration has no courage in upholding the law. If he (Sutiyoso) really wants to comply with the zoning requirements as ruled in the city land-use plan, he should demolish those buildings that violate it, including the gas stations," he added.
Sony said that without any courage to take tough action, environmental problems in the city would never been resolved, including huge floods in the capital that have occurred every five years.
The gas stations are some of over 350 buildings constructed on the city's parks, road berms and greenbelts.
The others include dozens of police posts, power relay stations, kiosks, shops and offices.
The city administration said Jakarta now has 6,000 hectares of green areas or less than six percent of the total Jakarta territory, which covers 63,744 hectares.
The city plans to gradually expand the green areas to reach 9,500 hectares or 13.94 percent of the city's area within 10 years.
This is far below the ideal percentage, which is 30 percent, according to chairman of the Jakarta chapter of the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) Ahmad Safruddin.