Tangerang's small lakes in poor condition

Multa Fidrus, The Jakarta Post/Tangerang

Crucial during the upcoming wet season, 22 small lakes in several districts of Tangerang regency are now in a poor condition.

Most of the lakes are dry and shallow, some have even been reclaimed by housing developers.

The Jakarta Post observed on Thursday that one small lake in Pondok Ranji village, Ciputat, is now used as a large dump by residents, while part of its banks have been reclaimed to build business premises.

"The lake is so heavily polluted now, no fish live there anymore," said M. Soekarso, a retired Army officer who lives nearby.

Most of Tujuh Muara lake in Pamulang has also been reclaimed by the developer of Vila Pamulang housing complex, despite strong protest from the housing complex residents.

According to Yulianto, chief of the utility division at the Tangerang Public Works and Irrigation Agency, it was still not clear which government agency was authorized to manage the small lakes.

"The lakes are still under the West Java administration. It has yet to hand over the authority to the Banten administration," he said.

"Both residents and housing developers can easily reclaim land on the banks of the lakes without fear of being stopped by the administration, because they can argue that there is no certificate to state the ownership status of the lakes," he added.

Tangerang regency is part of the Banten administration which was established in 2000. The area was formerly under the jurisdiction of the West Java administration.

Regent Ismet Iskandar, however, argued that Law No. 7/2004 on Natural Conservation gives the legal basis for his office to manage the small lakes.

"We are drafting a bylaw that will give us the authority to manage the lakes. We have even started the project to rehabilitate Garukgak lake in Kresek district, which can be a potential water catchment for Kresek, Kemiri and Kronjo districts," he told the Post on Thursday.

The Italian government agreed on a debt swap scheme in July with the Ministry of Settlements and Regional Infrastructure to rehabilitate as many as 100 small lakes in Greater Jakarta, including Tangerang.

The rehabilitation project would be held for three years, financed by the state budget.

The project is aimed at alleviating the annual flooding in Jakarta.