Govt to restudy Jatigede dam project
Yuli Tri Suwarni, The Jakarta Post, Bandung
The government said on Friday it would reconsider the revived plan to build Jatigede dam in Sumedang, West Java, following protests from local residents and environmental activists.
Minister of Settlements and Regional Infrastructure Soenarno admitted that the decision to review the project was taken in response to the opposition against the huge project, which would entail the relocation of around 7,000 families from Jatigede.
Protesters and other critics say the dam would only add to the suffering of the local people, as they would lose their farms, and it could also seriously damage the environment.
"We will restudy it to overcome the lingering problems and by the end of 2004, we want the decision to be final as to whether to go ahead with the project or cancel it," Soenarno told journalists in Bandung, West Java.
The minister said the results of the study would be presented to the House of Representatives for consideration, although the current government may be replaced in 2004.
The Jatigede People's Communication Forum (FKRJ), which is opposed the project, has suggested that the dam be relocated to the barren area of Beureumbeungeut in Cipasang village, Cibugel subdistrict, Sumedang.
Soenarno said land compensation and an historical site in the planned construction area were also issues hampering the project.
FKRJ coordinator Kusnadi Chandrawiguna said the compensation for communal land, where the dam is to be built, should have been between Rp 30,000 (US$3.50) and Rp 70,000 per square meter in 1985 based on market prices, but landowners were only paid between Rp 6,800 and Rp 8,400 per square meter.
This was a direct violation of Agrarian Law No. 5/1960, which stipulates that land compensation must follow local market prices, he said.
As for the historical site, Soenarno said the hamlet of Leuwiloa in Leuwihideung village, Darmaja subdistrict -- which would be affected by the project -- was the birthplace of the Tembong Agung kingdom, the founding kingdom of Sumedang.
The minister said that if the plan was to go ahead, the government had agreed to budget Rp 2.1 trillion for the construction of the Jatigede dam, which was to have a capacity of 800 million cubic meters of water and expected to irrigate 97,000 hectares of farmland.
"President Megawati has told me that the Jatigede dam is aimed to sustain the production of agricultural foods, not for producing power. That's only an added function," he said.
He said there were three options the government could consider: "First, the project would go ahead. Second, we relocate it to another area, and third, we build a smaller dam in the same location."
Soenarno made the statement after a meeting with West Java Governor Danny Setiawan, who said the people to be evicted from Jatigede could be relocated to the regencies of Majalengka, Cirebon and Indramayu.
The environment, agriculture, forestry and fisheries and maritime affairs ministers, failed to attend the meeting, but sent their senior aides in their stead.