Surjadi calls for cool heads in the case of Bira Island
Surjadi calls for cool heads in the case of Bira Island
By Stevie Emilia
JAKARTA (JP): Governor Surjadi Soedirdja said yesterday the
case of Bira Island should not be blown out of proportion.
"We have to analyze the real situation, the real problem of
Bira Island. We have to solve this case with a cool head. Please
don't get carried away emotionally as we have to check where the
fault really is," Surjadi said.
On Tuesday, city councilors pressured the governor to take
over the Bira Island case following President Soeharto's
expression of concern about the environmental destruction there.
The President underlined the importance of restoring the
environment.
The governor said that one of the city administration's
obligations is to serve the public. "The city tries to do its
best to serve the public in order not to make them suffer. But
the public should also know that there are rules that changed
during a certain period of time."
He said the city administration issued its first permit for
the usage of land on the island back in 1973. "At that time I was
not the governor yet," he added.
"We have to know when the environmental impact analysis
regulation was issued for the first time by the city
administration. It was long after the permit for Bira Island was
issued. A long time ago, we only used to do an environmental
evaluation study something like that, but the situation has
changed now," Surjadi said.
The environmental impact analysis is a mandatory assessment, a
report on which must be presented by developers to the concerned
governmental agencies to ensure that any development will not
produce unwanted effects in the surrounding environment.
Aboejoewono Aboeprajitno, head of the city's Environment
Office and also the secretary of the environmental impact
analysis commission, said that the commission will announce the
findings of the environmental impact analysis regarding the
extent of the destruction to the island.
Governor Surjadi emphasized that the matter should be resolved
as soon as possible. "But we also have to remember that there are
many problems faced by the city administration that should be
solved too."
Tjokropranolo, who was Jakarta governor from 1977 to 1982,
told the Kompas daily yesterday that he was deeply concerned at
the fact that the developer of Bira Island has developed large
segments of the island into a golf course.
"We have to remember what President Soeharto said, we have to
prevent the island from being destroyed environmentally. We have
to preserve the existence of the island as it used to be, instead
of changing it into a golf course," he said.
"Besides that, I wonder why people would want to play golf
there? They have to cross the sea just to play a round of golf,"
he added.
On Thursday, Deputy Governor for Development Affairs Idroes
ordered the environmental impact analysis team to summon
executives of the developer, PT. Pulau Seribu Paradise and PT.
Consartha Indomartra, the developer's consulting firm.
The head of the legal affairs department of PT Pulau Seribu
Paradise, Jafar Tirtosentono, said that the developer has
developed the golf course in line with the Land Use Permit issued
in 1973. He said the company had renewed the permit on Jan. 6,
1994, with the knowledge and approval of the Jakarta
administration.
"I don't think that we have violated the law as we built the
golf course with the approval of the municipal administration,"
he told The Jakarta Post by phone. He added that the
administration also allowed the company to build bungalows on the
island. According to Jafar, the island belongs to PT Patra Jasa,
a subsidiary of Pertamina, the state-owned oil company.
Under existing regulations, the developer must set aside 40
percent of the island for greenery. Instead of obeying the
regulation, the developer put in the golf course and provided a
plot of land for the green area on nearby Panjang Island.
On Tuesday, Aboejoewono complained about the slowness of the
consulting firm which was ordered to do the environmental impact
analysis.
"We are also dissatisfied with the results of the study
conducted by the consulting firm. At the moment we are trying to
find experts to replace the officials of the consulting firm in
order to meet the environmental impact analysis commission's
qualifications," Jafar said.
He denied reports that the city had turned down the results of
their study.
"It is not true that our study has been turned down by the
city administration. The city gave it back to us so we can
correct mistakes in it," he said.