Jakarta blames Bekasi in garbage dump dispute

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.