Idroes asks for openness on Bira

JAKARTA (JP): Deputy Governor Idroes urged the Environmental Impact Analysis Commission yesterday to report the result of its study of the environmental conditions on Bira Island to Governor Surjadi Soedirdja as soon as possible.

"If the evaluation of the environmental situation on the island has been completed, the result must be reported to the governor as soon as possible," Idroes said.

On Friday, the commission held a meeting to evaluate a study conducted of environmental conditions on the island. It was the fourth meeting held by the commission regarding the Bira Island case. The commission turned down the developer's environmental impact analysis for the third time in February because the report failed to meet the standard set by the city administration.

An environmental impact assessment must be carried out before a developer can obtain permission for any development project.

Friday's meeting was attended by representatives of the commission, the developer of PT Seribu Island Paradise and non- government organizations.

"I completely agree that the head of the commission has to report the evaluation results to the governor as soon as possible. That is his responsibility," City Council Chairman Lukman F. Mokoginta, of the Indonesian Democratic Party faction, said yesterday.

"But he should also remember that it is not only the governor who wants to know the result of the environmental analysis of the island, but also the public. It has followed this case since the beginning so it has to know the result of this evaluation," Lukman added.

Aboejoewono Aboeprajitno, head of the City Environment Office and also the secretary of the commission, said that the commission had now accepted the developer's environmental impact study of Bira Island with certain qualifications.

"We accept the Bira Island environmental analysis on certain conditions -- we haven't accepted it whole," Aboejoewono said.

"The developer, for example, should make some changes to the study. The commission has given the consulting firm two weeks to revise the analysis," he added.

He said that the consulting firm, PT Consartha Indomartha, had agreed to revise the analysis within the two weeks allowed. (31)