Stop building any more villas in Puncak: VP
Stop building any more villas in Puncak: VP
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Vice President Hamzah Haz called on the West Java provincial
administration to stop the development of luxurious villas in
Bogor, Puncak and Cianjur (Bopunjur) which have been partly
blamed for the devastating Jakarta floods.
"The West Java provincial administration must stop the
development because it is against the spatial zone ruling,"
Hamzah said after attending a service at the Al Falah Mosque in
Pasar Minggu, South Jakarta on Friday.
The West Java provincial administration has said that the
capital had never thanked it for supplying water from the
Ciliwung river and a mountain resort enjoyed by thousands of
Jakartans every week.
The administration is considering imposing levies on the water
and charging Jakartans for picnicking in the area.
The vice president's call came too late as the development of
upmarket villas in the mountainous resort areas have mushroomed
prior to the floods that wreaked havoc and claimed many lives in
Jakarta.
Hamzah blamed the provincial administration because it had
issued permits to convert forested areas into housing compounds,
an action that was against the spatial zone rules.
According to the rules, the area must be preserved as
conservation forests that should function as a catchment area to
avoid lowland flooding, including in Jakarta.
"The urgent thing is that the West Java administration must
return the mountainous resort to its original function as is
stipulated by the spatial zone ruling," he said.
Violations of the rules has gone on since the rule of former
dictator Soeharto with thousands of villas and restaurants being
built in the area.
On Thursday, East Java Governor R. Nuriana rejected criticism
his administration must be held responsible.
He said a portion of development permits were issued by
Jakarta and most of the villas were owned by Jakarta's elite,
including government officials.
Nevertheless, he said, he was ready to talk with Jakarta
Governor Sutiyoso and Banten Governor Djoko Munandar to discuss
the flooding.
West Java administration spokesman Muadz lambasted the central
government and the Jakarta administration which he said was
unfairly blaming it for the floods.
It was unfair to attack West Java as the province had made
major contributions to Jakarta, he said.
"Jakarta has never thanked West Java, not for the flooding,
but for water supply from the Ciliwung River and the beautiful
mountainous resort thousands of Jakartans enjoy every week," he
said.
He said his administration was considering imposing levies on
the water supply and on all Jakartans picnicking in the
mountainous resort.