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.