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.