Kalideres Crematorium Permit Described as a Blatant Breach of Local By-Law

William A Sarana, a member of Commission A of the DKI Jakarta DPRD from the Partai Solidaritas Indonesia (PSI), spoke out on the controversy over the Swarga Abadi Funeral Home and Crematorium project in Kalideres, West Jakarta. He stated that granting the permit for the project is irregular because it blatantly violates Local Regulation (Perda). He argued that the crematorium’s presence in the middle of a resident neighbourhood clearly contravenes Article 7(a) of Local Regulation No. 3 of 2007. He stressed that land adjacent to densely populated residential areas should not be designated for commercial cremation. ‘It borders densely populated housing, and there are two schools neighbouring as well; indeed it should not be allowed,’ William said. He also considered the construction of two crematoriums in the same district, Kalideres, to be unusual. ‘One in Tegal Alur, the other in Kalideres; thus the permit issuance is very odd, in my view.’ On the issue of the funeral home and crematorium in Tegal Alur, he said the matter had been discussed by councillors last year. ‘We in Commission A had already held a meeting about crematoriums in Tegal Alur last year. And I have expressed the same view: crematoriums should not be built in the middle of residential areas,’ he stated. In addition to highlighting breaches of land-use, William alleged indications of maladministration in issuing the permit. He questioned how the Building Permit (PBG) could be approved when the foundation as the developer did not yet possess an Environmental Impact Assessment document (AMDAL). ‘In my view, one of the oddities is that the PBG was issued before the AMDAL permit. The PBG was issued prior to AMDAL on the strength of only a commitment letter,’ he said. The foundation’s commitment letter to pursue AMDAL is seen as a shortcut to obtaining the PBG before AMDAL was sought.