Arientha Primanita & Fidelis E. Satriastanti Jakarta Globe 1 Apr 11;
Environmental activists have slammed a decision by the Supreme Court to allow a land reclamation project to proceed along the city’s coast.
Ubaidillah, director of the Jakarta branch of the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi), said he was disappointed by the ruling, which effectively annuls the State Ministry for the Environment’s order to revoke the permit for the project.
“This shows how the city’s power can supersede even that of the central government,” he said on Thursday. “Even the Environment Ministry didn’t stand a chance against the reclamation project.”
Some 32 kilometers of coastline is set to see land up to 1.5 kilometers in length reclaimed from the sea. Overall, a total of 2,700 hectares of land is expected to be reclaimed, on which the city plans to build commercial and industrial hubs.
The project, proposed in 1994, was sidelined in 2003 by the Environment Ministry after failing to pass an environmental impact analysis (Amdal).
Contractors working on the project, however, immediately filed a suit at the Jakarta Administrative Court to overturn the ban.
That court ruled in favor of the contractors but the project remained suspended on appeal. In July 2009 the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the ministry.
But that decision was appealed by Tjondro Liemonta, owner of Bakti Bangun Era Mulia, one of the six project contractors, and the original ruling was upheld on March 24.
The other contractors involved are Taman Harapan Indah, Manggala Krida Yudha, Pelabuhan Indonesia II, Pembangunan Jaya Ancol and Jakarta Propertindo.
Imam Hendargo, deputy for spatial planning at the Environment Ministry, said his office had not yet received official notice of the latest ruling but would stand its ground on blocking the reclamation plan.
“This is not a matter of who’s right or wrong, but about how the environmental assessment was conducted and what the impact will be to the environment,” he said.
“The project is touted as a positive development for the people. But which people are we talking about here? If the fishermen there agree, then go ahead.”
Imam said the ministry would insist the project also obtain a strategic environmental assessment (KLHS), considering its potentially wide-ranging impact on regions beyond the capital.
“The project will have to be coordinated with other affected sectors, including energy and ports,” he added.
The city says the new land will accommodate up to 1.5 million people and help prevent the chronic tidal flooding that plagues much of Jakarta’s north.
However, Slamet Daryoni, from the Indonesian Green Institute, said land reclamation was not the right solution for Jakarta, especially in terms of ecological sustainability.
“Currently, North Jakarta is prone to severe land subsidence and tidal flooding,” he said. “The reclamation project will only burden the area further because of the need for additional infrastructure there along with residential and office space.”
He said the city should instead focus on projects to revitalize the North Jakarta area.
Slamet said his group, along with Walhi and several other NGOs, would ask the Judicial Commission, which oversees the conduct of judges, to review the latest ruling because it did not represent environmental or public interests.
Muhammad Tauchid Tjakra Amidjaja, the city’s assistant for development and environment, meanwhile, said the ruling vindicated the city’s plan and would allow it to go ahead with the reclamation project.
“The city administration always had the proper legal basis,” he said. “The Environment Ministry only said that the Amdal needed to be completed, which we’re doing.”
Tauchid added that the Jakarta Development Planning Board (Bappeda) was also completing the KLHS, which will cover all environmental prerequisites for the project.
Ridwan Panjaitan, head of compliance at the Jakarta Environmental Management Agency (BPLHD), said the city was doing its part and the Environment Ministry should accommodate it by granting the Amdal.
Tauchid said the administration would also revitalize North Jakarta, including building embankments and a sea wall to prevent tidal flooding. “We’re taking all aspects and all people into consideration,” he said.
“When the project is completed, it will be a new source of economic growth that will help boost the city’s income, which in turn will benefit the people’s welfare.”
