JAKARTA. The Environment and Forestry Ministry has told the Jakarta city administration to prevent developing companies from continuing their land reclamation work, while the ministry carries out an evaluation of the project in the Jakarta Bay.

On Wednesday, the ministry installed signs demanding the suspension of construction work on three islets, Islet C, D and G, pending the evaluation.

The ministry’s expert staff for relations among central and regional institutions, Ilyas Asaad, said on Wednesday that Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya had issued a decree ordering the city administration to carry out an environmental assessment in connection with the construction of the islets.

GAGASAN: Mencegah Politisasi dalam Penetapan Status Bencana Nasional

“The city administration and the ministry have to carry out join monitoring of the reclamation project to make sure that the implementation of the project is in line with regulations,” said Ilyas as quoted by kompas.com.

On May 4, accompanied by Jakarta Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Susi Pudjiastuti, Coordinating Maritime Affairs Minister Rizal Ramli and Forestry and Environment Minister Siti Nurbaya visited Islets C and D.

They found a number flaws in the process of reclamation, including the unification of Islets C and D into one islet, which they claim violated the reclamation permits issued by the Jakarta city administration.

Siti also revealed that the environmental impact analysis (AMDAL) documents for the construction of the islets did not include crucial environmental considerations, like the provision of clean water, the impact on undersea cables and pipes as well as sedimentation in the surrounding area.

Ilyas said the Environment Ministry and the city administration were required to provide developers with guidance to make sure that the reclamation project would not derail from the initial planning. He also stressed the importance for both institutions to monitor the source of materials that would be used by the developers to carry out reclamation.