T

he Jakarta City Council blasted Fauzi Bowo on Monday and demanded that the Governor to do more to solve the city’s worsening flooding and traffic congestion problems.

The council’s party factions were pessimistic that Rp 3.89 trillion (US$435.68 million) of the city proposed budget of Rp 27.95 trillion would be enough to solve the city’s flooding and traffic problems.

The city lacked plans to solve perennial problems such as floods under the leadership of Fauzi, council deputy speaker Triwisaksana of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) said.

“The government still relies on the East Flood Canal and has yet to overhaul the city’s drainage system problem,” he said.

Triwisaksana said that the city’s outdated and poorly-maintained drainage system has led to severe street flooding, which has led to massive traffic congestion.

Fauzi has earmarked 13.9 percent of the city’s proposed budget for 2011 for the problems: Rp 1.36 trillion for flooding and Rp 2.53 trillion for traffic.

The Governor’s proposed budget allocates funds to buy land for the East Flood Canal project and to build more inspection roads for the canal. The budget also earmarked funds to fight flooding in 73 regularly inundated spots, for the Jakarta Emergency Dredging Initiative (JEDI) and to build two dams.

Councilor Belly Bilalussalam of the United Development Party wanted to know how the city would spend its proposed budget to fight traffic congestion.

“Will the budget be allocated to make Transjakarta buses more comfortable, faster and roomier for more passengers?” he said.

Golkar Party spokesman Prya Ramadhani said the city administration had yet to make any progress on infrastructure and blasted the government for wasteful spending.

Prya said his faction deplored that Rp 211 billion from the 2010 budget had been allocated to build the Pulo Gebang Bus Terminal, which remains idle.

In 2011, administration has proposed allocating Rp 1.36 trillion for new roads and finishing the Transjakarta system. The funds would also cover construction and operation of an integrated urban railway system that would include a light rail system, commuter trains, monorails and refurbishment of street buses.

Some councilors supported Fauzi’s plans. S. Andyka of the Great Indonesia Movement (Gerindra) Party said that the city administration had made great strides in tackling traffic congestion.

“What matters is that the city administration has made serious progress,” Andyka said.

In a separate meeting on Monday with Jakarta’s four Regional Representatives Council (DPD) members, Fauzi, a career bureaucrat, said that he was bogged down by red tapes in implementing his programs.

“For example, we need to do the dredging project comprehensively, meaning that we dredge all parts of the drainage system. But the city can’t do that because a number of main drainage channel are under the authority of the central government,” Fauzi said.

He also said that the city would need the go-ahead from the Finance and Transportation Ministries before it could implement the Electronic Road Price (ERP) system on Jakarta’s main thoroughfares.

The DPD members offered to help Fauzi and press the central government to act on the administration’s proposals.

“We have often consulted with Home Minister Gamawan Fauzi on this issue but have not yet received any answers,” DPD member Dani Anwar said.