Province, regency battle over project
Province, regency battle over project
Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post/Medan
A controversial hotel development in Merek, Karo, encroached into
a protected forest, a team from the North Sumatra forestry office
and forest area protection bureau said on Thursday.
Office head Prie Supriadi, said the team's result was based on
the province's land resource plan, which showed that developer PT
Merek Indah Lestari's hotel and golf course project overlapped
with a protected area.
The result, he said, was disputed by Karo regency forestry
officials because they held a conflicting view about where the
boundaries for the conservation area were.
"The Karo administration should have accepted the team's work.
We have no intention of obstructing development there -- what
we're doing is protecting the sustainability of a protected
forest ecosystem for the future," Prie told The Jakarta Post.
A permit to construct the hotel and golf course was issued by
the Karo regental administration last year after the Regional
Investment Coordinating Board in the province issued a permit for
the company to go ahead with the project.
Karo regency forestry office head Ramli Sembiring confirmed
his office had not yet received the team's report. However, he
said the team's data was different from that of the office.
He said according to the team's data, there were around 10
hectares of protected forest area affected by the project. The
land included land along the entrance road to the hotel and golf
course.
According to data from the regency, only three hectares of the
road encroached into the protected forested area.
"We discussed our different data two days ago in Medan; it was
not fruitful meeting. That's why the team's result has not yet
been approved by the Karo regental administration," Ramli said.
Early reports said the area which would be turned into hotel
and golf course covering 210 hectares. The area had been
purchased by the company from residents of the Tongging, Merek
and Pangambatan villages in several phases.
Observation of the site two weeks ago found the company had
began building a road allegedly without providing an
environmental impact analysis.
Prie Supriadi said he would bring the team's result to
Minister of Forestry M.S. Kaban.
"I'll present the team's report to the minister on Sunday. We
hope the minister, with his authority, will stop construction in
the protected area because we have tried to stop it ourselves but
to no avail," Prie said.
The minister is scheduled to arrive in Medan on Saturday to
start his working tour of the province.
One of the company's directors, Tamin Sukardi, when contacted
through his cell phone, said he entrusted the matter to the
government. "Whatever the government decides, we'll follow," he
said.