Public Works minister says all is well in Jatigede dam project

Public Works minister says all is well in Jatigede dam project

JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Public Works Radinal Moochtar gave his assurances yesterday that the construction of a multipurpose dam in Jatigede, West Java, will proceed smoothly.

Radinal told reporters that the thousands of villagers displaced by the project would be well compensated and that he did not expect any of the same trouble that beset the construction of the Kedung Ombo dam in Central Java in the 1980s.

"The social upheaval that accompanied the construction of Kedung Ombo will not be repeated in Jatigede," he said at a break during the hearing with the House of Representatives.

"The construction of Jatigede dam is carried out in such a way as to minimize any upheavals," he said of the project, which was started last year, Antara reported.

When completed, the Jatigede reservoir, which is located between the Sumedang and Cirebon regencies, will provide valuable irrigation for the area which constantly suffers a lack of water during the dry season and flooding during the rainy season.

The government has to resettle 6,662 families because their farms and homes are in areas designated for the reservoir. Earlier reports suggested that more than half of these families have accepted the government's offer of compensation and resettlement.

The project enters its most delicate phase, at least politically, this year -- resettling the villagers.

But Radinal dismissed yesterday any concern that there could be trouble, saying that he would personally see to it that the affected farmers are properly compensated for their land and property. "I even think that they should be compensated higher than the going market rate because they are sacrificing the land for the good of others."

The government has certainly learned valuable lessons from the Kedung Ombo dam, a World Bank funded project that caused the displacement of over 60,000 families. Many of them resisted being relocated and they, supported by students and activists, held demonstrations, some of which turned violent.

The government has also been sued by Kedung Ombo villagers in court. (emb)