No action for Bantar Gebang dump

No action for Bantar Gebang dump

Muninggar Sri Saraswati and Rendi A. Witular, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

JAKARTA: As the Jan. 31 deadline nears for the Bekasi
administration to decide whether or not to continue to keep the
Bantar Gebang dump open, there were no serious preparations seen
on Wednesday at alternative dump sites.

Without any positive indications either from the Jakarta city
administration or the Bekasi municipality that the reopening of
Bantar Gebang dump can be extended until the year 2003 after Jan.
31, Jakarta will need alternative locations to accommodate its
25,000 cubic meters of trash per day.

Governor Sutiyoso had said earlier that the administration
would apply a sanitary landfill system at the alternative
locations; including the 70-hectare plot in Marunda regency,
North Jakarta, a 20-hectare plot in Tegal Alur, West Jakarta and
a 40-hectare plot in Kamal, West Jakarta, should Bekasi decided
to close the Bantar Gebang dump again.

However, none of the sites were deemed ready to accommodate
the city's garbage under such a system, as it would take more
than one month to prepare the facilities. The preparations
include digging the land and installing pipes to drain off
seepage from the garbage.

If the sites are utilized after the January-end deadline, then
the open dumping system will be applied. This has received strong
opposition from environmentalists as the large volume of
decomposing garbage in an open area creates serious health risks.

Last month the Bekasi municipality closed Bantar Gebang dump
due to the environmental damage at the site and the surrounding
area. But after the home ministry and the House of
Representatives intervened it agreed to reopen on the condition
that Jakarta's would enter into a new memorandum of understanding
with Bekasi before Jan. 31.

Neither the city administration nor Bekasi municipality have
provided details about the terms to be included in the new
agreement. City spokesman Muhayat, however said recently that the
terms included the construction of a hospital and clean water
pipe network.

Bekasi could not be reached for comment on the terms for the
new memorandum of understanding.

If the new MOU is not realized by Jan. 31 then Bekasi will
close the Bantar Gebang dump again. If the MOU pushes through
then Jakarta may use Bantar Gebang until 2003.

However, Muhayat raised the alarm that the administration may
not be able to fulfill the new agreement due to financial
constraints.

As of Wednesday, there was no sign of preparations to prepare
a dump site at the 71-hectare plot of land in Marunda belonging
to the State Logistics Agency (Bulog). Also it has yet to build a
road leading to the location so that garbage trucks can enter it.

The memorandum of understanding to use the land as a dump
site, to accommodate 1,000 tons of the city's daily trash, was
signed on Monday by Governor Sutiyoso and Bulog chairman
Widjanarko Puspoyo.

Ansori, head of administrative affairs for Marunda
subdistrict, said that the subdistrict office had not been
officially notified about the dump site development.

"Don't ask me! We don't know anything about the development of
the dump site on the Bulog land," Ansori told The Jakarta Post.

Meanwhile, most residents living near the land criticized the
administration's plan to establish a dump site in their
neighborhood because they had not been consulted on the plan.

"We regret it because the site is located less than 500 meters
from private residences while trucks carrying garbage have no
other way but to pass roads through our area to reach the place,"
said Joko S., the head of a community unit near the site.

In the planned Kamal dump in West Jakarta, residents have set
their terms for the city administration to use it as a garbage
dump. The terms include the construction of clean water pipeline
network, a health clinic, a three-meter wall to separate the dump
from the residential areas and appropriate compensation for
residents in the area.

"We demand such facilities; if the administration refuses to
comply with our conditions, we won't allow it to be used," H.
Dapet, a prominent figure in the area told The Jakarta Post on
Wednesday.

H. Dapet and other local community leaders in the adjacent
subdistricts representing about 400 families were invited by the
subdistrict chief, Makmur, and other local officials last Dec. 25
to discuss the planned use of the 65-hectare plot of land.

According to H. Dapet, the administration agreed to fulfill
their demands at the meeting. However, the residents have not
decided whether to accept it or not.