Jakarta wants Puncak, Cianjur in joint plan

Jakarta wants Puncak, Cianjur in joint plan

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Governor Sutiyoso urged the central government on Monday to
include Puncak and Cianjur, both in West Java, in a new spatial
plan of Greater Jakarta.

He argued that they play an important role in the management
of areas in Greater Jakarta, particularly in dealing with floods.

"The joint spatial plan should include the areas of Puncak and
Cianjur since the management of those areas heavily affects the
overall management of Greater Jakarta," Sutiyoso said on the
sidelines of a meeting organized by the Coordinating Board of
National Spatial Planning (BKTRN) at Borobudur Hotel in Central
Jakarta.

Also present at the seminar was Vice President Jusuf Kalla.

Sutiyoso emphasized that the success of any effort made by
the Jakarta administration to stave off annual floods in the city
would be determined mostly by the policies of neighboring areas
in Greater Jakarta.

The central government is currently drafting a spatial plan
for Greater Jakarta covering Jakarta and its satellite cities,
including Depok, Bogor, Tangerang and Bekasi.

Sutiyoso pointed out that the massive conversion of catchments
in Puncak and Cianjur into housing estates had resulted in
worsening floods in the capital.

"The presence of catchments in upper areas is paramount as
they are instrumental in retaining water during the rainy season
so that we can reduce the water that flows into the capital," he
said.

The Office of the State Minister of the Environment reported
earlier that of 198 reservoirs in Greater Jakarta, as many as
134, or 68 percent, no longer function properly as catchments.

Nine catchments have been converted into residential areas or
dump sites, while two catchments in Tangerang have been converted
into rice fields.

With no East Flood Canal and a West Flood Canal that grows
narrower by the year, at least 78 areas across the capital are
prone to flooding.

Major flooding in February 2002 paralyzed much of the capital.
At least 31 people died in the floods that forced 300,000
residents into temporary shelters.

Late last year, the administration revealed its plan to build
a dam on Ciliwung River on a 100-hectare plot of land in Ciawi,
West Java in order to reduce the volume of water in Ciliwung
River and its tributaries. Ciliwung is one of 13 major rivers
running through the city.

The project, expected to cost Rp 150 billion, will be executed
in cooperation with the Bogor administration and the central
government.

The idea of making a single master plan for administrations in
Greater Jakarta was first floated by former Jakarta governor Ali
Sadikin.

He came up with the idea to help solve problems affecting
areas in Greater Jakarta, such as transportation, waste, housing,
clean water supply and flood mitigation due to the absence of
strong coordination among the administrations concerned.