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Anies criticized over Jakarta Bay islet projects
Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan, who has in the past been a vocal critic of the Jakarta Bay reclamation project, has adopted policies that have some questioning whether he is a man of his word
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span>Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan, who has in the past been a vocal critic of the Jakarta Bay reclamation project, has adopted policies that have some questioning whether he is a man of his word.
Anies promised during his gubernatorial campaign that he would put an end to projects on several islets in North Jakarta. He initially showed good on his promise, sealing off more than 900 buildings on three reclamation islets in June last year.
The three islets, which were previously called islets C, D and G, were renamed Pantai Kita (Our Beach), Pantai Maju (Moving Forward Beach) and Pantai Bersama (Together Beach) in November after his administration argued that they did not have construction permits. Later in September, he revoked principle permits for 13 artificial islands.
However, his actions since then have raised questions.
By December, the seals had been lifted and replaced with billboards advertising luxury houses and office spaces on the islets. Afterward, a food court was reportedly allowed to begin operating on Pantai Maju.
Last week, it was reported that Anies approved buildings on artificial islets despite criticism of the issuance of 932 building permits (IMBs) on Pantai Maju and Pantai Kita.
Anies defended the issuance of the permits, saying that he went through the proper procedures and kept his campaign promise of stopping further development, with the reclaimed islets to be made available for public use.
He cited Gubernatorial Decree No. 206/2016 on urban development guidelines (PRK) for islets C, D, and E — to justify the issuance of the recent building permits.
According to city secretary Safulllah, Anies fulfilled his promise by revoking the permits of the 13 reclaimed islets.
He said that in 1997 the Jakarta administration and developers agreed to a cooperation deal, which stipulated that private developers would receive 35 percent of land use rights, while the entirety of the land from the reclaimed islets was to fall under the ownership of the city administration.
“From that cooperation deal, the new land became parts of Java Island. That’s why the governor named them pantai, [because they are] an extension of Jakarta,” Saefullah said.
Several Jakarta City Council members proposed a plan to launch inquiries into Anies following the governor’s decision to allow the issuance of the permits.
City Council Commission D member overseeing development, Manuara Siahaan, questioned Anies’ decision to issue the permits and said that a special committee (Pansus) was needed for an inquiry into Anies and related agencies.
He criticized Anies for using the 2016 decree to justify the administration’s actions, saying the decree only set up rough guidelines on planning for the reclaimed islets.
Manuara said that when the decree was issued, it was expected to be followed by a draft bylaw on zoning; furthermore, a complete urban design guideline was supposed to be the basis for approving a building permit, not a gubernatorial decree.
Meanwhile, Commission D head Iman Satria said city councillors had the right to propose a special committee to investigate the matter but advised against doing so.
“Don’t be too hasty [in wanting a special committee]. We can summon and listen to what they [Anies and city agencies] say first. Don’t use it as a [political] weapon,” the Gerindra Party politician said.
Trisakti University urban expert Nirwono Joga said the building permits should be revoked by the city administration because of violations.
“The city administration should not have granted the permits in the absence of a North Jakarta Strategic Area Regional Spatial Plan and Jakarta Zoning Plan and Coastal Northern Territories [RZWP3K] draft bylaws,” he said.
