House halts Dadap reclamation

House halts Dadap reclamation

Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Unrelenting protests by fishermen and environmentalists against
the reclamation of the north Tangerang coastline met with support
from House of Representatives members, who on Monday ordered
Regent Ismet Iskandar to stop the project.

In a hearing with Tangerang officials, deputy chairman of
House Commission VII on environmental affairs Sonny Keraf
stressed that the regent should stop all reclamation activities
until the developers could guarantee that it would cause no
environmental damage.

"We'll check whether an environment impact analysis was done
for the project," he said.

Sonny was the state minister of the environment in the Cabinet
of Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid.

Ismet previously explained that the reclamation of Dadap
village was for the establishment of a tourist resort equipped
with hotels, restaurants, apartments and sports facilities.

He said the project, which began mid-last year, was being
carried out by three major developers -- PT Kosambi Harapan
Utama, Wisata Pasir Putih Kosambi Cooperative and PT Parung
Harapan.

At the time of the hearing, 70 fishermen who operate in Dadap
Bay staged a rally outside the House compound, protesting the
reclamation project, which they said had caused a reduction in
their incomes.

Abiddin, one of the fishermen, welcomed the House's standpoint
on the matter, saying the project had forced him to fish farther
out to sea.

"Before the reclamation, we could catch fish just 100 meters
from shore, but now we have to travel over one kilometer farther.
The project costs us more in operational costs," he added.

Other fishermen have left their jobs and become scavengers to
earn a living.