Land agency order paves way for stricter flood control
Land agency order paves way for stricter flood control
JAKARTA (JP): Weeks before the recent downpours, flood
watchers questioned the commitment to preserve natural and man-
made catchments near housing complexes.
The government estimates that Rp 129.5 billion is needed to
rehabilitate most of the 193 lakes in Jakarta and its surrounding
areas partially lost to construction activities.
But this year, "We have to concentrate on repairing pumps and
cleaning out rivers," says Siswoko, head of the Ciliwung-Cisadane
river improvement project under the Ministry of Public Works.
He may be relieved to know that State Minister of Agrarian
Affairs/Chairman of the National Land Agency Soni Harsono
instructed his regional offices on Oct. 3 that location permits
for all developers were no longer to be issued.
After halting permits for industrial sites, Soni also said
land for housing areas is enough until 2018.
Soni cited indications of speculation; of 92,298 hectares of
land which have acquired permits, only 13,276 hectares have been
developed.
One official hopes that the instruction can enable the
government to concentrate better on approaching developers to
improve and preserve catchments.
Although there is hardly any land left, "The instruction will,
at least, help local administrations to say no to developers
actually asking for arable land," a source at the agency said.
So far, "Changes have been very surprising," Siswoko said.
To the north of Tangerang, 8,000 hectares are earmarked for
the Teluk Naga tourism project.
In Bogor, 30,000 hectares are planned for the Bukit Jonggol
complex, reportedly permitted on the condition that land owned by
the Ministry of Forestry is compensated.
Two other developers are planning to develop 1,800 hectares.
Billboards announce new complexes, such as Bukit Sentul,
lining the Jagorawi toll road and the road to Depok.
Last year, 220,736 hectares of arable land in Bogor, Tangerang
and Bekasi were transformed into roads, housing complexes and
industrial areas.
After the floods earlier this year, the government announced
its support to local administrations around Puncak, where
uncontrolled development was blamed for the flooding.
In the wake of more rains, officials now remind us that the
revived enforcement of the 1985 presidential ruling on catchments
goes far beyond the above-mentioned mountain resort.
As the areas downstream are yet to receive political back up,
will similar mistakes lead to more floods?
Soeparmono, director general of water resources, points out
that 20 percent of runoff is from the rivers' upstream areas,
while 40 percent is from the middle areas of the river basin.
The latter areas are where projects are springing up, due to
relatively-cheap land and accessibility to towns. In the 1985
ruling, these districts, including Sawangan and Parung in Bogor
and Ciputat and Pamulang in Tangerang, were categorized as
kawasan budidaya (mixed areas), where housing is allowed to a
certain extent.
A few examples do show some hope in regards of developers'
environmental concerns.
* The Telaga Kahuripan, developed by PT Kuripan Raya in
Parung, promises homes around two existing lakes, to which five
other lakes will be added.
* Another firm, PT Wijaya Karya, shows it only uses paving
blocks in its Bali-like "village" in the Ciputat district.
* A catchment well is built for a cluster of homes.
* A driving range, its manager says, is less harmful compared
to a golf course.
But it is not good economics to have so much open space.
Also, developers feel exclusive country clubs and sports
centers are a must and sharing a golf course with the public is
considered rather degrading.
The only hope it seems is to increase the public's awareness
of maintaining open spaces and catchments, especially among
consumers with higher environmental awareness, who feel that
exclusivity is no longer a sensible lifestyle. (anr)