Reclamation work in limbo
Multa Fidrus, The Jakarta Post, Tangerang
Three companies involved in the reclamation of Tangerang's northern coastline have complained over the House of Representatives' recommendation the project be halted.
"If the Tangerang regental administration revokes our permit to reclaim the area and stops the project, it means the government has failed to provide investors with legal certainty," Jhoni Ramly, spokesman of Wisata Pasir Putih Kosambi Cooperative, said on Thursday.
Jhoni said that all three of the developers -- including the cooperative, PT Kosambi Harapan Utama and PT Parung Harapan -- should be given the green light as the reclamation of the 20-hectare stretch of coastline, near Dadap village in Kosambi district, would attract investors to the area.
The coastline would be developed as a resort area with hotels, restaurants, apartments and sports facilities.
Fishermen and environmentalists have been against the reclamation project since its beginning two years ago, staging frequent protests. House Commission VII for the environment responded to the protests last Monday by holding a hearing with Tangerang officials.
Commission deputy chairman Sonny Keraf -- formerly state minister of the environment -- recommended that regent Ismet Iskandar put a stop to reclamation activities until the developers could guarantee the environment would not be harmed.
However, the regent said on Thursday he had not taken steps to halt the project, arguing that the developers had obtained the required permits and environmental impact analyses after he suspended the project in July last year.
"First, I should meet with the three developers and then hold a public hearing that involves the councillors and religious figures," he said.
However, Lawyers for the Environment group (Piels) has threatened to sue the regent for environmental damage resulting from the development.
Coordinator of the Indonesian Environmental Activists Alliance (IEAA) in Tangerang, Karya Ersada, who is working on the case, said on Thursday that the suit would be filed with the Tangerang District Court should the regent refuse to halt the project.
"Our team of lawyers have met with Dadap residents, who said they didn't know anything about the legality of the reclamation," he told The Jakarta Post.
He said that the reclamation work had destroyed mangrove forests, coral reefs and marine life in Dadap. Hundreds of local fishermen have also lost their jobs.
Ersada said the developers may have violated Article 38 of Law No. 23/1997 on the environment, which stipulates that a party found guilty of destroying a mangrove forest could face a maximum penalty of 10 years' imprisonment or a Rp 500 million (US$53,191) fine, as well as Ministerial Decree No. 17/2001 that requires any reclamation work to be supported by an environmental impact analysis.