Jakarta blames Bekasi in garbage dump dispute
Ahmad Junaidi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The city administration thinks threats by the Bekasi mayoralty to close Jakarta's main garbage dump in Bantar Gebang stink, and hopes the mayoralty will honor an agreement over the use of the dump.
"Do not use pressure. If there is a problem with the garbage dump we can discuss it," city administration spokesman Muhayat told The Jakarta Post.
The reason for the closure threat is that construction work on some facilities at the dump, an agreed upon condition for the reopening of Bantar Gebang to the city, failed to live up to expectations.
But Muhayat blamed the Bekasi mayoralty for this failure, saying it did not properly supervise several projects funded by Rp 14 billion provided by Jakarta.
He said Jakarta garbage trucks were stopped three weeks ago by Bantar Gebang residents upset that newly constructed roads were already damaged.
"It was not our responsibility to supervise the construction of the roads," he said.
Muhayat said the city administration had yet to receive official notification from the Bekasi mayoralty about the possible closure of the 100-hectare dump.
According to article 12A of an agreement signed by Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso and Bekasi Mayor Nonon Sonthanie on Jan. 31 of this year on the use of the dump, the mayoralty has the power to unilaterally cancel the agreement.
However, Bekasi is required to send the city administration three warning letters before canceling the agreement.
Two weeks ago, Mayor Nonon threatened to close the dump, which is located in three villages in Bekasi, saying Jakarta had failed to fulfill its promise to clean up the environmental damage at and around the dump.
During an inspection of Bantar Gebang last week, Bekasi councillors saw for themselves the damaged roads leading to the dump.
The councillors criticized the developer, owned by activists of non-governmental organizations, for having no expertise in building roads.
It also was reported that some of the money provided by Jakarta for construction work was used to purchase equipment such as computers and cars, which had nothing to do with the garbage dump management.
According to article 1 of the agreement, the city administration is to pay the Bekasi mayoralty compensation of Rp 14 billion this year and Rp 8 billion next year for use of the dump.
Article 8 of the agreement stipulates that the dump can be used until December of this year, and can be extended to next year if an independent team of environmental experts approves.
The dump, which has been used since 1986, is reportedly responsible for air and water pollution in the surrounding areas, as well as the foul odor that emanates from the piles of trash.
Separately, Jakarta city councillor Abdul Azis Matnur urged Bekasi to respect the agreement.
But he also criticized the city administration for failing to anticipate the garbage problem and for not responding to several offers by local and foreign companies to process the city's garbage.
"We warned the administration years ago to handle the problem. There are lots of companies that even want to buy the garbage," he said.
City Sanitation Agency head Slamet Limbong said last Friday the city could face a garbage crisis if Bekasi closed its dump. The mayoralty closed the dump for almost a week last year, causing thousands of pounds of uncollected trash to pile up in Jakarta.
Slamet said the construction of three garbage dumps in Bogor, North Jakarta and West Jakarta would begin next month, in an effort to anticipate the closure of the Bekasi dump.