Government plans to tax river water users

JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Settlement and Regional Infrastructure Erna Witoelar warned on Monday that a tax could be imposed in the future on those exploiting river water.

Opening a two-day international course on planning and management of river basins in Jakarta, Erna said people living on the river banks, private companies and state-owned companies, including provincial tap water producer (PDAM), could all be taxed for using the river water.

"This is a way to make those exploiting river water responsible. The people must stop their habit of spoiling water. They must be held responsible for the quality of the river water," she said.

However she said the plan was still at the discussion level.

The imposition of any tax must also get the approval of the House of Representatives (DPR).

When asked about people living on the banks of rivers, Erna said that they should start trying to treat the river in a more responsible fashion. "The pollution in the river is not only due to the mistakes of those living on the rivers' banks. People living in other areas have also contributed to the river water pollution."

She denied allegations that the government had always defended the families living on the river banks. "If their existence is dangerous (both to the their own lives and the environment), they will be relocated. The most important thing is they will be used to manage, not to spoil the water."

Speaking about the connection between regional autonomy and river management, Erna said that regional administrations were in charge of rivers running through their areas. "Management of the river is no longer done by the central government."

"If a river runs across a regency, it is the regency that will impose the tax on those using the river water in the area."

Bandung

In a related development, the head of West Java's Provincial Environmental Impact Management Agency, Nia Kurnia said on Monday that most of 1,800 factories operating in the province dumped their waste illegally into the rivers.

"Until August, there are only 97 industries that have a legal permit to discharge their waste into the river. That's the current situation in West Java," he told The Jakarta Post.

He said permits to dump industrial waste into the river were in line with the Provincial Regulation No. 10/1995.

"It is the Public Works Office that is authorized to issue the permits. Our agency functions as a coordinator for technical affairs."

He said the provincial administration had found it difficult to implement the regulation. "The law enforcement has been too poor. The industries started operation long before the regulation was produced. The administration is also lacking the technical team to implement the regulation."

An environment expert of the Padjadjaran University, Daud Silalahi, said that the law had never been seriously enforced. "The administration, the Agency and the factory owners have a poor understanding of the regulation. They think that the regulation is not a positive law, which could see violators being tried." (25/sur)