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Mayor has failed to expand Depok's green spaces, activists say
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Bumper-to-bumper traffic is seen on Jl. Margonda Raya in Depok, West Java, in this undated photograph. Activists say that Depok Mayor Idris Abdul Somad has failed to open more green spaces in the city. (Tempo/Subekti)
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our activists from the Green Open Space (RTH) Movement issued on Wednesday a legal warning letter against Depok Mayor Idris Abdul Somad, who they deemed had failed to establish more green spaces in the city.
"The law stipulates that at least 30 percent of a city's area should be green space. For Depok, this would be 6,008.7 hectares," RTH Movement coordinator Alfred Sitorus said, noting that Depok currently had only 3,271 hectares of green space, tempo.co reported.
The organization has demanded that the city administration fulfill the targeted area of green space by 2030.
"The city administration has been neglecting the people's right to green space for over ten years. It's very hard for us to access information about the administration's progress in executing their programs," Alfred added.
Instead, he said, the Depok administration had cut down more trees on several roads and riverbanks, further diminishing the green space in the city.
"We will file a lawsuit if the city administration doesn't respond to our legal warning letter within 14 days," said Alfred.
The assistant to the Depok regional secretary of economy and development, Herman Hidayat, said that the city administration was committed to developing more green spaces.
"Opening more green spaces isn't an easy task, even though the budget is quite large. We have several other priorities like infrastructure and economic development," Herman said.
"Green spaces in Depok has increased by one percent last year, by around 184 hectares," he added.
The city has allocated Rp 9 billion (USD630,000) for green spaces this year. (vla)
