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group of activists and fishermen incorporated in the Save Jakarta Bay Coalition has questioned Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan’s commitment to halting the reclamation project in Jakarta Bay as he has yet to fulfill a series of recommendations that the group has proposed.

Anies has scrapped draft bylaws on the North Jakarta coastal spatial plan and the zoning plan on coastal areas and small islands (RZWP3K), which served as the basis for continuing the reclamation of Jakarta Bay, from the city’s legislation program (Balegda) this year.

However, the decision is not enough to stop the project, says the coalition, which gave its recommendations to Anies in December.

The People’s Coalition for Fisheries Justice (KIARA) deputy head Tigor Hutapea said the city administration had not removed draft regulations for the reclamation from the bylaws.

Therefore, after Anies’ term as governor is finished, the discussion on the bylaws could continue and the project could be restarted.

He went on to say that in the 2013-2017 mid-term regional development plan (RPJMD), the city administration did not specifically state its plan to stop the reclamation, but to only review and audit the project.

“A lot of studies on the impact of the project have been conducted in the past. The governor should have made strategic moves to stop the reclamation,” Tigor said at the Indonesian Legal Aid Institute (YLBHI) in Central Jakarta on Tuesday.

He added that the city administration had yet to revoke Jakarta Gubernatorial Regulation No. 206/2016 on the guidance of city management of Islets C, D and E and Regulation No. 137/2017 on the guidance of city management of Islet G.

Those regulations were issued by the administration of then Jakarta governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama.

Apart from that, the coalition has lamented the fact that the city administration has done nothing to rehabilitate the environment that has been affected by the project or restore the livelihoods of fishermen.

Fishermen have long complained about the impact of the project, which has encroached on their fishing areas leading to reduced catches.

Jakarta Legal Aid Institute (LBH Jakarta) lawyer Nelson Simamora went on to say the coalition was worried that the central government would take over the project following the revision of Presidential Decree No. 54/2008 on spatial planning for Jakarta, Bogor, Depok, Tangerang, Bekasi, Puncak and Cianjur.

The government reportedly will regulate the reclamation project and the Jakarta sea wall in a revision of the decree.

“The process to revise the decree is not transparent. The government has never involved us in the revision process,” Nelson said.

The Jakarta administration under Anies’ leadership has been opposed to the central government on the continuation of the reclamation.

Coordinating Maritime Affairs Minister Luhut Pandjaitan, who lifted a moratorium on the project last year, has stated that the reclamation should continue since the project developers had fulfilled requirements set by the government.

On the other hand, Anies has stuck to his promise to stop the project for the sake of the livelihoods and welfare of fishing communities.

“Reclamation is still a public issue. I want to say that I’ll be consistent [about my stance on stopping] the reclamation,” Anies said, reiterating his previous promise, on Tuesday.

The assistant to the city secretary for city development, Gamal Sinurat, responded to the activists’ criticism by saying the city administration would focus on reviewing the revoked bylaws.

However, the city administration has yet to plan the rehabilitation process, Gamal said.

Separately, the Jakarta Police have questioned four Cabinet ministers as part of an investigation into the controversial project, namely Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya, Luhut, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Susi Pudjiastuti, and Agrarian and Spatial Planning Minister Sofyan Djalil.

They took the initiative to look into the case amid controversy surrounding the project,

The police are set to summon PT Kapuk Naga Indah (KNI), a subsidiary company of Agung Sedayu Group, the developer of Islets C and D, in their investigation into the project.