The shutdown of Jakarta's Kalijodo red-light district in North Jakarta reveals a lack of fairness in the way the Jakarta administration clears areas for development, as giant commercial areas remain untouched, experts have said.

Activists and experts have criticized Jakarta Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama'€™s decision to clear the Kalijodo area, established in the 1960s, to make way for green space.

The city aims to comply with the 2007 Spatial Planning Law, which requires provinces to allocate 30 percent of space for green areas.

"If Ahok used the open green space requirement as a basis for the evictions, then he must be fair. In Jakarta there are a lot of green and blue spaces whose functions have been altered to become hotels and malls. Ahok needs to audit those buildings too," University of Indonesia historian JJ Rizal told thejakartapost.com on Friday.

The city administration has evicted residents in middle-lower-income residential areas such as Kalijodo, Bidara Cina and Kampung Pulo.

Bidara Cina and Kampung Pulo in East Jakarta are flood-prone areas on account of being located along the Ciliwung River.

The Jakarta administration has announced plans to evict residents and move them to low-cost apartments following river dredging and river expansion plans.

Such policy has created a stigma that low-income residents are thieves of state land, he added.

An attorney at the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute (LBH Jakarta), Alldo Fellix Januardy, said overflowing rivers were not the sole reason for flooding in the city.

"Flooding is caused by corruption related to the granting of building permits on water catchments areas or green spaces. We regret Ahok's action that sparked public opinion that poor people are to blame for Jakarta's floods," he said.

The governor has placed blame on previous administrations for their lack of regulations on green space. " In the past everything could be arranged," he said as reported by kompas.com on Tuesday adding that his administration had complied with the 2012 and 2014 regulations on spatial planning.

Meanwhile, the city's spatial planning agency insisted that no buildings had been on green space.

'€œWe wouldn't grant licenses for construction on green space," the spatial management division chief at the Jakarta Spatial Planning Agency, Gentur Wisnubaroto, told thejakartapost.com.

Regarding Kalijodo, he claimed that based on a 2005 city map, the area had always been designated as greenbelt as it was located along the Angke River.

Planologist from Trisakti University Yayat Supriyatna said the city administration had always let people build buildings under unclear regulations.

"In Jakarta there are many green spaces whose functions have changed," he said.

For example, Kelapa Gading in North Jakarta used to be a water catchment area but now has transformed into a high-end residential area with many housing complexes.

Yayat blamed the city's spatial planning regulation for allowing such changes.

However, the development of Kelapa Gading did not violate the city map, Gentur said.

" Green open space in Kelapa Gading is limited only to the area under the high-tension transmission line," Gentur said refuting opinion on Kelapa Gading's misuse of green space.

There are existing buildings occupying green areas, as designated by the city's spatial plan from 1985 to 2005, according to the research of associate professor of urban studies and planning at Savannah State University, Deden Rukmana.

Kelapa Gading and Sunter were designated as water catchment areas in 1985 as supermarkets, residential complexes, apartments, factories and hospitals were built in the North Jakarta area.

Also in North Jakarta, Pantai Indah Kapuk was also designated as a protected area, but is now filled with homes, malls and golf courses.

The Senayan area in South Jakarta had also once functioned as the capital's center of greenery, according to the research, but now people can see malls, hotels and apartments in the area. (rin)

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