Adianto P. Simamora, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Environmentalists have spoken out against the police's decision to call off their investigation into the city's road-widening project along Jl. Thamrin and Jl. Sudirman.
"It sets a bad precedent in upholding the Environmental Law in the capital," Jakarta Residents Forum (Fakta) chairman Azas Tigor Nainggolan said Wednesday.
The Jakarta Police on Tuesday sent Tigor a letter in his capacity as the plaintiff representing groups of environmentalists who have accused Governor Sutiyoso of failing to protect green areas in the city.
The letter, signed by Comr. Tomsi Tohir of the Special Crimes Directory's environment and resources division, said the road-widening project did not violate the Environmental Law since it had not been necessary to carry out an environmental impact analysis (Amdal) for it.
It said median strips were not part of designated green areas, while the level of pollution along the two streets had improved by 16.31 percent after the projects.
"The arguments show up inaccuracies in the police's investigation. The Environmental Law stipulates that an Amdal is a must for any project that affects an area that is more than four kilometers long," Tigor said.
The project affected 6.4 km of median strip, he said.
Members of Fakta, the Jakarta Caucus for the Environment and the Jakarta chapter of the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) reported Sutiyoso to police in October. Former minister for the environment Sonny Keraf is among the prominent figures in the group.
Under the Environmental Law, any party found guilty of damaging the environment, including polluting the air, could face a maximum punishment of 10 years' jail or a Rp 500 million fine.
The Jakarta administration said the project was aimed at easing traffic congestion since parts of the streets were being taken up by the busway lane.
The administration allocated Rp 30 billion for the project and removed hundreds of trees from the area.
Tubagus Haryo Karbiyanto of the caucus, who deals with transportation issues, said more private vehicle owners had been taking the streets since they were widened.
"It only benefits car owners. The projects have not reduced traffic congestion on the streets. This is why the administration needs to introduce electronic road pricing."
He said research by road construction company PT Pembangunan Jaya predicted that for every km of additional road, there would be 1,923 more cars and 3,000 motorcycles.
Caucus member Firdaus Cahyadi added that dropping the case could give the administration the license to cut down more trees along the streets to make way for its transportation projects.
"It would then be even more difficult for the administration to meet the target of 30 percent of open and green areas as required by the law on spatial planning," he said.
The administration is aiming to convert 13.94 percent or 9,544 hectares of city land into green spaces by 2010, up from 7,319 hectares or 10.7 percent in 2005.
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