Bantargebang Residents Demand Higher Compensation for Garbage Smell

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Acting Head of the Jakarta Environmental Agency Syaripudin said the request voiced by residents of Bantargebang area, Bekasi City, for an increase in the compensation of uang bau, or garbage smell, will be discussed.

He said a special team had been established to draft the mutual agreement on the management of Bantargebang Integrated Waste Treatment Area (TPST Bantargebang) between the Jakarta and Bekasi City administration.

“We will discuss it later. There has been no complaint, no issue by far because we discuss them together,” said Syaripudin at City Hall, Thursday, September 23.

Syaripudin said discussions between the two governments had been going on for a long time. The two will hold consultations to formulate the rights and obligations of both parties in the waste management at the landfill.

Jakarta and Bekasi have thus far together in managing waste. The Jakarta government could transport waste in the capital city to the Bantargebang TPST and pay the fee to Bekasi as compensation, including for local residents for living with the smell.

Bantargebang Community Unit (RW) Forum head Kiman Sumarwan said local residents asked for an increase in the monthly compensation from Rp350,000 to Rp500,000.

The cooperation between Jakarta and Bekasi will reportedly end on October 26, 2021. Syaripudin ensured that no component of the compensation was changed. The compensation hike, he added, would be based on the amount of waste sent to Bantargebang TPST. “Everything is based on data,” he said.

Read: Reducing Dependency on Bantargebang, Jakarya Builds Waste Treatment Facilities

LANI DIANA | KORAN TEMPO