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.