Jakarta Official Replies to Criticism over Idle River Normalization Program

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Jakarta Water Resources Agency Secretary Dudi Gardesi explained the reasons why the agency did not resume the river normalization program which aimed at preventing floods in the capital. He said his side is experiencing hurdles, including increasingly limited land.

“The land is very limited. We want to follow the rain [volume, widening the river area] as wide as possible as we have calculated, but there is no land,” said Dudi to Tempo on Friday, January 21.

He said broadening the drainage or river required land clearing. However, the project is still facing issues so the agency needed alternative measures in flood mitigation, such as infiltration wells.

“Why don't we expand the existing drainage? We are limited so we are attempting to apply available alternatives. Infiltration wells do not work just for absorbing [water], but they also have modular tanks,” Dudi explained.

A member of the Jakarta Legislative Council (DPRD) from the PDIP Faction, Ida Maheasy, criticized the steps taken by the provincial government in an effort to clear land on the riverbanks for the river normalization program. She argued that the program in the era of Governor Anies Baswedan was stuck due to poor communication between citizens and the government, unlike in the era of Basuki Tjahaja Purnama or Ahok.

Read: Jakarta Continues River Normalization Program, Allots Rp5tn Budget

M JULNIS FIRMANSYAH