Jakarta told to clean up Bantar Gebang

Jakarta told to clean up Bantar Gebang

Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

A Bekasi City Council special committee called on the Jakarta
administration on Sunday to make good the environmental damage
that had been caused by its dumping of 6,000 tons of waste per
day at the Bantar Gebang dump since 1986.

"The committee is scheduled to meet officials from the Jakarta
administration on Monday in Bekasi to discuss the capital's
commitment to rehabilitating the dump," committee chairman Wahyu
Prihantono told The Jakarta Post by telephone.

He pointed out that the making of improvements to the dump was
one of the main conditions stated in the previous contract, which
had to be fulfilled by Jakarta.

"In principal, the contract allowing Jakarta to dump its waste
in Bantar Gebang came to an end on Dec. 31 ... There's no need
for the capital to wait for our final decision," he said.

The Bekasi council set up the special committee to question
Bekasi mayor Akhmad Zurfaih and deputy mayor Mochtar Mohamad on
their policies as regards the dump.

Wahyu said his committee had completed its questioning of
Akhmad and Mochtar.

"The committee recommends that Bekasi councillors follow up on
the results of our questioning by reporting both the mayor and
deputy mayor either to the police or the prosecutors office for
abuse of power," he said.

The committee decided to question both the mayor and deputy
mayor after they signed an agreement on Dec. 22 with Governor
Sutiyoso of Jakarta to allow the capital to continue dumping its
waste in Bantar Gebang. The contract should have ended on Dec.
31.

Besides the agreement, the committee also questioned the
policy of Akhmad and Mochtar regarding the garbage processing fee
of Rp 85,000 (US$10) per ton for the capital's trash. The paid
had also promised locals Rp 50,000 in monthly compensation for
each of the 12,000 families in the three subdistricts of the
municipality.

People living around the Bantar Gebang dump had demanded that
the administration close down the dump, claiming that it had
damaged the environment and was endangering public health.

The Jakarta administration has allocated Rp 47.5 billion out
of its 2004 budget for the dump, of which some Rp 25 billion will
go on compensating Bekasi municipality.

Jakarta administration spokesman Muhayat refused to comment on
Sunday, saying that as of Friday the administration had yet to
receive any communication from Bekasi councillors regarding the
Monday meeting.

Sutiyoso earlier set a deadline of Jan. 17 for the Bekasi
Municipal Council to resolve its dispute with the Bekasi mayor
and deputy mayor.

After closing down Bantar Gebang on Jan. 4, Jakarta started to
dump its waste in swampy land in Cilincing subdistrict and open
land in Rorotan subdistrict, both in North Jakarta. The pollution
from the Cilincing dump has killed thousands of fish.

Since the closure of Bantar Gebang, Bekasi has also
experienced a waste crisis as it too uses the dump to dispose of
its waste.