N. Jakarta mayor berates negligent factory owners

JAKARTA (JP): North Jakarta Mayor Suprawito has threatened to take stern action against factories which recklessly dump their waste into rivers.

The owners would have their factories' waste treatment facilities closed if they ignored notification letters from the mayoralty, Suprawito said Monday.

"I will only close down the factories's waste treatment facilities because I have no authority to stop the operation of the factories," Suprawito told The Jakarta Post.

He warned the factories' owners not to underestimate the sanction however, as it would effectively also mean the closure of the factory's whole operation.

Once action is taken, the negligent factories would be closely monitored by the mayoralty's officers. And if the owners were still stubborn, Suprawito said, he would consult with representatives of other related institutions to seek harsher punishment.

"This action is badly needed to help maintain the river cleanliness program called Prokasih.

"The cleanliness program is vital for North Jakarta, which functions as the main gate for the Tanjung Priok port and the nearby coast," Suprawito said.

He said that in the past warning letters had usually been ignored.

Waste

"The factories only obey the rules when official operations against them are launched. Apart from then, most of them continue to directly dumb their waste into the rivers without any treatment," he said.

The river cleanliness program, which was introduced eight years ago, applies to 13 rivers, including the Sunter, Cakung, Grogol, Banjir Kanal, Ancol, Ciliwung, Sentiong, Blencong and Angke rivers.

The program's activities include monitoring water cleanliness to ensure fluid waste levels remain under the acceptable limit.

The maximum waste level for an integrated textile factory, for example, is 125 cubic meters per ton of textile product.

The implementation of the program is based on Gubernatorial Decree No 582/1995, which states companies must develop waste treatment facilities, check and report on their waste to the City and Environment Study Office every three months.

The decree also states that industrial areas are to be checked regularly by city officials. (07)