NGO blames govt for Puncak crisis
NGO blames govt for Puncak crisis
Theresia Sufa, The Jakarta Post, Bogor
Non-governmental organization the Society of Environment Lovers
(Wakal) blamed on Friday the Bogor regency administration for
environmental damage in the Puncak mountain resort area following
an increase in villa construction there.
"The administration has no political will to address the
environmental crisis, let alone take action. The officials are
simply looking for financial benefit from the villas," Wakal
coordinator Ahmad Sjaugy Gathmyr told The Jakarta Post.
Ahmad further urged the officials and environmental experts to
stop talking and take action.
"We have attended many seminars and discussions and heard
comments from high-ranking officials and experts, but it's an
open secret that the perpetrators of the environmental damage are
above the law as they have bribed the authorities," he accused.
Also in the day, Director of National Spatial Management with
the Ministry of Settlement and Regional Infrastructure Ruchyat
Deni supported Wakal by saying that the local administration
should be held responsible for the conversion of the Puncak from
a conserved area to a residential area.
"The administration is powerless because those who own land in
the Puncak are prominent national figures and state officials.
The administration should have stopped the development of villas
and the housing complexes there from the start," he said.
Ruchyat was speaking on the sidelines of a seminar held by the
Bogor Institute of Agriculture, titled Spatial management and
environmental issues in Greater Jakarta, the Puncak and Cianjur.
The intensity of development around Bogor, Puncak and Cianjur
is always blamed for the annual flooding in Jakarta.
Recently, West Java Governor Danny Setiawan pointed out that
it was the Jakarta elite that had caused the catastrophe.
"They bought the land and built villas or paid local farmers
to cultivate fruit and vegetables for the consumption of Jakarta
people, reducing water catchments. The high influx of visitors,
uncontrolled development and poor law enforcement are all
culprits with regard to environmental damage," he said.
Moreover, he said, the existence of contradictory regulations
on the usage of the area had made the matter more complicated.
Presidential Decree No. 114/1999 identifies the area as a
water and land conservation area, but Government Regulation No.
47/1997 on spatial management, as well as several bylaws, treat
the area as a major source of revenue.
"There should be integrated management of the Bogor-Puncak-
Cianjur area to maintain both its conservation and economic
value," Danny said.
However, head of Bogor city spatial planning and environment
agency Adrian Aria Kusuma said that the development of villas and
housing complexes in the resort area was not unlawful.
"They were built on private land and they have the necessary
permits. We are not ignoring the environmental damage issues but
the development there, contrary to all accusations, improves the
water catchment. What we need is proper control because we can't
prevent people from developing land," he argued.