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Council backs south Garut as new regency
The local legislative council has approved a proposal to create a new regency within Garut regency, West Java, to spur development programs in the southern part of the region
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he local legislative council has approved a proposal to create a new regency within Garut regency, West Java, to spur development programs in the southern part of the region.
The new regency would be called South Garut. However, the new regency - first proposed five years ago by local residents - still has a long way before being legally recognized by the state.
Under prevailing laws, the creation of any new regency or province must first be approved by the House of Representatives in Jakarta.
At a plenary session, the Garut legislative council endorsed a proposal to partition 16 districts from the Garut administration.
The approval was based on a recommendation from a special committee which was formed last year, council speaker Dedi Suryadi said Thursday.
It was also based on findings of a feasibility study undertaken by Padjajaran University (Unpad) in Bandung, Dedi said.
The decision was made at the council's plenary session on Tuesday, he said.
"We have considered and measured the capability of the current Garut administration, which cannot serve its southern areas *effectively*, so people there feel sidelined," Dedi said.
Presently, Garut regency consists of 42 districts and has a population of around 2.3 million people.
The new regency would be home to more than 600,000 people.
Gunawan Undang, who chairs the Presidium of South Garut People, said Garut administration and council should immediately follow up on the decision with concrete steps before the council ends its five-year term in September.
He warned that a new legislative council could annul the current legislature's endorsement of a south Garut regency.
Almost half of the people in south Garut are living at or under the poverty line as development programs were conducted "unequally" in Garut, Gunawan said.
For example, he said, roads in four of the districts within south Garut - Banjarwangi, Singajaya, Cibalong and Peundeuy - were seriously damaged but had not been repaired by Garut administration, despite funds being allocated for the work.
