Poor geological data damages environment: Rais
Poor geological data damages environment: Rais
JAKARTA (JP): A deputy governor says many irregularities
discovered in various development aspects in the capital that
have damaged the environment are mainly due to the absence of
accurate geological data.
Deputy Governor for Economic and Development Affairs Tb. M.
Rais said yesterday there is a great deal of environmental damage
caused by irregularities in development.
"Our city planning was formed without being substantially
supported by adequate geological data, which is important in
determining land use," Rais said when opening a seminar on mining
geology at City Hall.
He said accurate geological data is instrumental in drawing up
good city planning, which is aimed at developing the city as well
as building the city's infrastructure without harming the
environment.
He said now that the city is gearing up to construct a subway
system linking Blok M in South Jakarta and downtown Kota, the
availability of accurate and adequate geological information is
becoming more imperative.
"Data on underground conditions is very important for city
planning so we know exactly, for example, the soil condition of
an area before declaring it suitable for the site of a high-rise
building," Rais said.
Rais urged related agencies, including the city's mining
agency, to cooperate in conducting research aimed at drawing up
the city's comprehensive geological data base.
"There are many large-scale projects to be completed in the
city, such as land reclamation and the subway system. So the need
for accurate and comprehensive geological data is indispensable,"
he said.
The one-day seminar was held by the city's mining agency to
introduce technical guidelines on land dredging for projects such
as a subway system, land reclamation and buildings.
The head of the agency, Arifin Akbar, said the guidelines were
drawn up with the help of experts from the Bandung Institute of
Technology, University of Indonesia, Gadjah Mada University and
National Veteran University.
"The seminar is held to publicize the guidelines as an effort
to encourage development which will not adversely affect the
environment," Arifin said.
Rais also said the city administration should have a
comprehensive underground utility system based on the city's
geological data.
He said basically, the system is coordinating all underground
projects conducted by either government or private agencies.
"They can use it without harming the environment and it is
still in line with the city's planning," Rais said.
Jakarta is notorious for its messy underground utilities
because none of the related agencies, such as electricity, gas
and telecommunication companies, work together in establishing
their utilities.
This situation has even been more aggravated by the fact that
there are no maps or drawings available of the underground
utilities. For example, the city administration does not have the
underground utilities map of the sprawling Senayan Sports Complex
in Central Jakarta. (yns)