Sutiyoso refuses to stop housing projects

Sutiyoso refuses to stop housing projects

Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso has voiced opposition to the central
government's decision to stop development of housing projects in
Greater Jakarta, saying that such a suspension would only lead to
increased unemployment.

"In my opinion, these projects must not be stopped, only re-
evaluated. Those which have been following correct procedure
should be given the go-ahead, while those found violating the
zoning regulations should be stopped or punished," Sutiyoso told
reporters on Friday.

He was commenting on a statement by Resettlement and Regional
Infrastructure Minister Soenarno, who ordered the suspension of
all construction projects in Jakarta for six months.

The minister said that, during the six-month period, the
government would evaluate all projects, both those being built
and those already completed, to find out whether they have
fulfilled environmental impact analysis (Amdal), and whether they
are in line with the city's master plan.

He stressed that any project found in violation of zoning
regulations would have its license revoked.

But according to Sutiyoso, a six-month period is too long for
evaluation of the projects. "Suspension of various projects in
Jakarta will just cause unemployment to rise," he said, without
elaboration.

Soenarno could be considered as against the regional autonomy
law, which stipulates that the development process in regions --
from mayoralties to regencies to provinces -- falls under the
authority of regional administrations, not the central
government.

Housing projects in Jakarta and its satellite cities (Bogor,
Tangerang, Bekasi, and Depok) have come under scrutiny lately
after city planning experts blamed them for being a major cause
behind the recent floods in the city.

The experts said that many of the projects had been built on
previously designated green areas, leading to a reduction in
water catchment areas, which decreased the city's ability to
accommodate water from heavy rains.

There are hundreds of housing projects in Greater Jakarta. But
25 of them are considered as mega-property projects, with each
project's area ranging from 500 hectares to 30,000 hectares. All
of the 25 projects have a total planned area of 96,915 hectares.

Meanwhile, Tjuk Sudono, a member of the Jakarta City Council's
Commission D for development affairs, said that the Jakarta city
administration and the City Council should revise the prevailing
1995-2010 master plan, a revision of a plan implemented for
between 1985 and 2005.

He said that many of the housing projects were approved based
on the 1995-2010 master plan, which changed many green areas into
red areas or commercial and housing complexes.

Some experts suspected that the revised 1995-2010 master plan
was made to accommodate some projects, including the
controversial Pantai Indah Kapuk, an exclusive housing complex on
the former protected mangrove forests in Kapuk, North Jakarta.

"A master plan is drafted for the public interest, not for
certain people's interests. If it is not in line with the public
interest, or even caused people misery, we should revise it,"
Tjuk added.

Meanwhile, head of the Jakarta City Planning Agency, Setiawan
Kanani, said that revising the master plan would not be an easy
task. "It should not be implemented based on emotional
considerations," he said.

Setiawan said that he did not believe that the Jakarta master
plan was a cause of the flooding. He blamed the inconsistency of
all parties -- government officials and the public -- rather than
the plan, for having caused the problem.

"I think it is better if all parties be introspective about
this, as all of us have made the mistakes in the past," he said,
referring to the officials who had issued permits for
construction on green areas.