Puncak resort has a fatal beauty

Puncak resort has a fatal beauty

By Johannes Simbolon and Yoko N. Sari

Isn't it too late? This is the question springing from
President Soeharto's order to halt construction in Puncak, West
Java in an effort to stem the flooding which hit the capital in
January and February. The devastating floods claimed 30 lives and
caused tens of billions of rupiah in material losses. A cause for
the flooding had to found and all eyes turned to Puncak, a
mountain resort whose beauty has led to its destruction. The
Jakarta Post runs the following story and three others on Pages 6
and 7 on the importance of Puncak as a water catchment and what
can be done to prevent more flooding.

PUNCAK, West Java (JP): Mahfudin and his junior high school
mates in Cianjur regency stare at the valley where the Bukit
Danau housing complex stretches along the side of the Cikundul
River.

The complex consists of several rows of houses. The most
luxurious line the man-made, two-hectare lake which draws water
from the Cikundul. The river is blocked to divert water to the
lake. The water then flows into the river at another point.

The houses in the main section, priced between Rp 900 million
and Rp 1.1 billion (between US$400,000 and $488,888) have all
been sold to rich Jakartans. The villagers, who earn between Rp
100,000 and Rp 200,000 a month, are mere spectators of the luxury
encircling them.

This economic gap, however, isn't what makes Mahfudin and his
friends feel left out.

The complex used to be a sand quarry, a favorite spot for the
children to swim and play. Now it is out of bounds.

"We can't play there any longer," said Mahfudin sullenly.

He doesn't understand that the complex and the other estates
more than just annex playgrounds but also destroy Puncak's
environment. Several kilometers away from the artificial lake,
Mount Beunying in Cikanyere village is being bulldozed. The
excavation is turning the green mountain into a yellowish-brown
mound.

A housing complex, called the Aquila Cipanasis, is being built
on the 150-hectare, state-owned mountain. The developer is
selling the houses for between Rp 850 million and Rp 1.3 billion.
The facilities include a 18-hole golf course covering 59 hectares
and the first five-star hotel in Puncak.

"It is a profit-sharing joint venture between the Aquila
Cipanas realtor and the West Java administration," disclosed
Jauhari, the marketing manager of Aquila Cipanas.

Similar projects are being built throughout Puncak, many at
the expense of the environment and its ecosystems. The projects
are being blamed for the floods in Jakarta, including the recent
floods in January and February.

Many Jakartans asked what Puncak has to do with the floods
after President Soeharto ordered a halt to further development in
the mountain resort, an hour's drive from Jakarta.

Spread over Ciawi, Cisarua and Pacet, Puncak is part of 14
districts in the three regencies of Bogor, Cianjur and Tangerang
allocated as Jakarta's water catchment. The Puncak area in Bogor
stretches from Ciawi to the Puncak Pass, while in Cianjur it
sprawls over the three districts of Pacet, Sukaresmi and
Cugenang. Known for their natural beauty, Ciawi, Cisarua and
Pacet have been developed and subsequently destroyed.

Puncak's cool mountain air, fresh vegetables, goldfish, lovely
flora and neat tea plantations have drawn Jakartans to the area
for decades.

The problems started when weekenders were no longer satisfied
by simply looking at all that beauty. They wanted part of it, and
started building villas and cottages. Housing estate developers
have recently joined the building boom.

The boom has consumed open spaces which should have been
preserved to prevent flooding and water shortages in Greater
Jakarta.

Law

President Soeharto's order of Jan. 24 to control building in
Puncak underlines the importance of the area as Jakarta's water
catchment.

The President's order, though, also illustrates the
government's failure to uphold previous regulations concerning
the preservation and development of Puncak.

There have been four presidential decrees issued on tightening
control of Puncak's development.

The first decree was issued by President Sukarno in 1963, it,
among other things, banned the building of houses up to 50 meters
from the road and the felling of trees without a permit.

The decree did not stipulate a punishment for violators and
since building licenses were not yet obligatory, housing
development continued.

Alarmed at the situation, in 1983 President Soeharto issued a
decree instructing all offices in charge of Puncak's development
to preserve the area.

The Ministry of Public Works was assigned to make a site plan
for the area, the Ministry of Agriculture to supervise
development on agriculture land, the Ministry of Forestry to
supervise the forests; the Ministry of Home Affairs to supervise
the development of non-agricultural areas, and the then ministry
of population and environment was assigned to coordinator the
intricate plan.

Puncak's site plan was signed by the President in 1985. The
site plan categorizes the land into protected forest zones,
supporting areas which include tea plantations, agricultural
areas and non-agricultural areas which include residential sites.
Building in protected areas is prohibited, but allowed on 2
percent of the supporting area.

Later, in 1988, both the Bogor and Cianjur regencies issued
detailed site plans of the areas of Puncak in their respective
territory. Their decrees allow 3 percent of agricultural land to
be built upon.

Break

Money and power have nullified the regulations.

According to State Minister for Agrarian Affairs Soni Harsono,
1,350 hectares of agricultural land in Ciawi and Cisarua was sold
by farmers between 1983 and 1990 for non-agricultural purposes,
mainly for villas.

Even state land has been sold by villagers and officials.

The tens of thousands of hectares of state land was initially
leased to private tea plantations like PT Bumi Pakuan, PT
Ciliwung and the defunct North and South Cisarua. Much of the
land was then neglected and villagers began to cultivate, inhabit
and even sell it.

The buyers, all powerful people or speculators with powerful
backers, soon built villas on the state land.

"It happened because the Ministry of Agriculture did not
resume control over the land immediately after the lessees
abandoned it," explained Denny Moechri, the Bogor regency
spokesman.

Since 1988, the Cianjur regency has issued licenses to 68
developers to build housing estates on 5.6 million square meters
of land. Many of the complexes are located on agricultural land,
even though regulations limit construction to 3 percent of
agricultural land.

Villagers in need of cash are happily instructed by corrupt
officials about the tricks of selling their land without breaking
the law.

Local laws forbid the sale of land to non-locals, but
Jakartans can easily obtain a local identity card from village
chiefs. Indonesian law prohibits people from having two ID cards.

"Who makes the law? People, right? It can then be broken. Even
the law from God can be broken," said an official of Tugu Utara
village.

He discouraged The Jakarta Post from taking pictures of a
villa in his area which he said belongs to some generals.

The district chiefs and village heads, the low-ranking
officials who are supposed to directly supervise Puncak, say they
are powerless to stop the frequent violations.

"We are only subordinates. All decisions are made in the
regency. We only report violations and it is the people in the
regency who are to decide (what to do)," argued Mahmudin,
secretary of the Pacet district, adding that many of their
reports are not followed up.

District chiefs are only authorized to specify land ownership
to the regents.

"We are often surprised to see new buildings suddenly go up,
and can't do anything about it," said Syamsudin, the Cisarua
district chief.

The West Java provincial administration has benefited from the
increased income from the land tax imposed on the billion-rupiah
houses, but has, in theory, tried to limit the rapid development.

In 1994, the West Java governor ordered the Bogor and Cianjur
regents to stop issuing new building licenses. Building has
continued.

"All the development is done by developers who obtained
building licenses before the governor's decree," insisted Johan
Arifin, the Cianjur regency spokesman.