No control of ground water use

TANGERANG: The creation of the Banten province has created a new problem for Tangerang's conservation management and its licensing agency for the control of ground water usage due to the excessive use of ground water by companies operating in the area.

Agency chief Pahala Sirait told The Jakarta Post in Tangerang on Wednesday that following the separation of Banten -- of which Tangerang is now a part of -- from West Java province, Tangerang could no longer use the West Java bylaw on water usage.

At the same time, neither Tangerang nor Banten have a regulation on the matter.

Consequently, Pahala said his agency could not act against companies using ground water without a license from his office.

In addition, fewer companies are applying for a license with the agency. In the first quarter of this year, for instance, only eight companies requested a permit to use ground water.

In comparison, a total of 101 companies filed for the license last year.

Currently, some 700 companies in Tangerang are registered at the agency.

The Tangerang administration has filed a bylaw bill with the regency legislative council for deliberation. Under the bylaw, any company using ground water without a permit would face a fine of up to Rp 500 million or even lose their business permit.

"The council is still preoccupied with the Tangerang regent's budget reports. We hope that the council will endorse the new bylaw within the next three months so that we can impose sanctions on companies that violate regulations," Pahala said. -- JP