E. Java offers to pay for mud mess

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Sat, 11/25/2006 12:32 PM

Indra Harsaputra and Tony Hotland, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

In a move likely to surprise taxpayers Friday, East Java Governor Imam Utomo said the local government was considering helping Lapindo to pay for the cleanup of the massive mudflow disaster in Sidoarjo, East Java.

This differs from the position of the central government, which has said Lapindo bears full responsibility for the disaster, and that it will not bear the financial costs.

""Perhaps, for instance, by paying half of the expenses for the disaster if Lapindo cannot afford to pay all,"" Imam said after meeting with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Cabinet ministers at the Presidential Palace.

He said the idea was still being discussed and declined to go into details.

PT Lapindo Brantas Inc. is an oil and gas exploration company operating on the Brantas site, where hot mud has been spewing out of a botched gas exploration well for the last seven months, forcing thousands from their homes.

On Wednesday night, an underground gas pipe belonging to state-owned oil company Pertamina exploded at the Brantas site, killing at least 11 people.

Later in the day, Vice President Jusuf Kalla said that all stakeholders should take responsibility in dealing with the disaster, including the government.

However, Kalla added that the 2006 Presidential Decree on the mudflow states that Lapindo is to bear all expenses incurred by the disaster, from stopping the mud to relieving the social impact felt by residents.

""If we're paying, we first need to have a budget for that and that needs approval from the House. The decree remains active and the government is more focused on the social impact of the disaster,"" he said.

Kalla added that gas and oil exploration experts had convinced President Yudhoyono that the mudflow could be fixed by January next year.

Transportation Minister Hatta Radjasa said the government would relocate the nearby railway tracks to seven kilometers away from the mud-covered area.

He said the government was investigating whether the mudflow was causing any geological movement below the railway tracks in the wake of the explosion.

Meanwhile, the death toll from Wednesday's blast reached 11 on Friday, while two people are still missing, National Sidoarjo Mud Disaster Team spokesman Rudi Novrianto said.

On Friday, three bodies were recovered. They were those of PT Guna Bangun worker Hendro Hartawan, PT Adhi Karya employee Haryo Restu, and Cpt. Hendro of the Indonesian Military.

The police have cordoned off the area from the public.

Residents of Besuki village in Jabon district, Sidoarjo, have been complaining of respiratory and skin problems since the explosion.

""Many children are having problems breathing. Some say they have skin rash,"" said Suharyono, a Besuki resident.

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