D

espite criticism and alleged foul play by developers, the Jakarta administration has said that the land reclamation projects — now under moratorium — cannot be undone.

Assistant to the governor for spatial planning and environment, Oswar Muadzin Mungkasa, said that the project had reached “a point of no return”, as several islands had already been formed. Thus, he said, the city administration could now only monitor the development in order to minimize the negative impact of land reclamation.

“The land reclamation projects in Jakarta have reached a point of no return. Therefore, all we can do is make sure that negative impact is minimal,” Oswar told The Jakarta Post recently.

Much like Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama, Oswar argued that the project had a firm legal basis, citing Presidential Decree No. 52/1995 on land reclamation regarding the Jakarta coast issued by then-president Soeharto. Thus, he said, the city administration would not be able to simply cancel the project or revoke those permits which had been issued.

Oswar said that Islet D developer PT Kapuk Naga Indah, a subsidiary of Agung Sedayu Group, had started to develop buildings — despite a lack of bylaw to regulate zoning in the islets, which is a violation. The city administration do not plan to destroy the buildings developed on islet D just yet, emphasized Oswar, adding that the buildings’ location “may be in line with the zoning bylaw”.

Indonesian Center for Environmental Law researcher Rayhan Dudayev said that although the moratorium was a positive step, he urged both the central government and the city administration to take legal steps to stop the project. Rayhan said that the government and the administration had every right to cancel the project and revoke land reclamation permits, as was stipulated in Law No. 30/2014 on public administration.

Article 64 of the law states that a decree may be revoked if there are flaws in authority, procedure or substance.

Rayhan, however, acknowledged that the government might be faced with consequences such as a declining business climate and costs associated with repairing the environmental or social losses triggered by the project thus far.

Public Works and Public Housing Minister Basuki Hadimuljono said that the land reclamation project had no effect on the National Capital Integrated Coastal Development (NCICD) phase A project, which was to build and repair the existing 90 kilometer seawall on the shores of Jakarta Bay. The project has been made a priority project by President Joko “Jokowi’’ Widodo.

“NCICD phase A has nothing to do with land reclamation so it will not be affected by the moratorium,” Basuki said recently.

The Indonesian Traditional Fishermen’s Association (KNTI) advisory board head Riza Damanik said that the land reclamation project was not just a mere administrative or procedural issue, but was a larger problem concerning the constitutional right of every resident to a decent living, clean and healthy environment and waters, and the right to participate in developing the city.