Ladia Galaska road project to go ahead despite criminal allegations

P.C. Naommy, Jakarta

The government-sponsored Ladia Galaska trans-Aceh road project is moving forward despite allegations of criminal intent from environmentalists, an ongoing police investigation and a pending court ruling.

"We consider the project illegal because it was started without the required Amdal. They (the government) failed to submit the document for up to a year after the project had already begun in 2002, which means they were operating without a license," said Indro Sugianto, executive director of the Indonesian Center for Environmental Law, referring to the Environmental Impact Analysis, which must be conducted on all major real estate and infrastructure projects prior to breaking ground.

Indro's charges are based on Article 50, Paragraph 3 of Law No. 41/1999 on forestry, which says that a project that proceeds without a license is considered a violation and is subject to a maximum 10-year prison sentence and a maximum Rp 5 billion (US$531,915) fine.

This is complemented by the State Minister for the Environment Decree No. 17/2002, which stipulates that an environmental analysis is required for any construction project in protected areas.

The planned Ladia Galaska road network cuts through hundreds of kilometers of protected forest areas in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam province.

Environmentalists in Indonesia and abroad are particularly concerned about the damage the project will cause to the Leuser Ecosystem. The main section of the Ladia Galaska road will cut through 100.16 kilometers of protected forests and 1.5 kilometers of forest conservation areas, including the Leuser Ecosystem.

A special crimes director at the National Police, Brig. Gen. Suharto, said the police could not take action against the officials of the central and Aceh governments who initiated the project.

"No articles in the Environmental Law explicitly stipulates that not having an Amdal is a crime," he said.

Suharto admitted, however, that the police had limited experience in applying the environmental and forestry laws in cases such as the Ladia Galaska project.

Jailani Hasan, former Riseh village head in Sawang subdistrict, North Aceh, and a member of the independent Ladia Galaska Surveillance Team, said the road did not meet the needs of locals and would only cause environmental damage.

According to his survey results, the Aceh administration would need to build only 82 kilometers of the 470-kilometer highway to boost the local economy.

Furthermore, Geologist Eko Soebowo of the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), also on the surveillance team, said six of the nine planned routes would cross the Sumatra fault line and would thus be prone to earthquakes, landslides and collapse.

The Ministry of Settlement and Regional Infrastructure had said the road should link the eastern and western coasts of the province to stimulate the rural economy of the western Aceh coast.

The first stage of construction involves laying down 47 kilometers of road to connect remote Lhok Seumot, West Aceh, which has a population of 1,500, to Beutong Ateuh, a subdistrict in West Aceh.

In the second stage of construction, 35 kilometers of road will connect the people of Ceulala, a subdistrict in Central Aceh, to Central Aceh capital Takengon.

As it has been difficult to prove criminal intent in relation to the project, environmentalists have resorted to civil litigation to try to halt ongoing work in the forests of Aceh.

The Indonesian Environmental Forum (Walhi) filed a lawsuit on Oct. 13, 2003, against parties involved in the road project, including the Aceh governor and the Minister of Settlement and Regional Infrastructure Soenarno. Walhi based its suit on Article 38 of Law No. 23/1997 on natural resource management.

After 23 court sessions, the verdict is set to be delivered on June 29.