Anies Baswedan Cracks Down on Buildings for Groundwater Misuse

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta -  Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan recently formed a team to monitor the city’s use of groundwater, absorption wells, and waste installations. The team will also inspect building managements for any violation in these sectors.

“This team, which comprises Jakarta’s regional working units (skpd) and external sources, is commissioned to conduct field monitoring,” said Anies Baswedan at City Hall on Monday, March 12.

The team was formed under the Gubernatorial Decree No 279/2018 that was ratified on February 6. It consists of members from the city’s Cipta Karya agency, environmental agency, industrial and energy agency, the public order agency (Satpol PP), water resources agency, and external sources from the groundwater conservation center. 

Read also: Anies Baswedan will Not Run in 2019 Presidential Election 

According to Anies, the team will keep an eye on and investigate around 80 buildings that are located throughout the capital for any forms of violations.

“Five teams consisting of 10 members each will visit those buildings daily. This is like a skyscraper operation to see if they abide by the law,” said the governor.

The governor claimed the main cause of Jakarta’s slowly-collapsing ground was attributed to the overly abundant groundwater suctions in several areas in the capital. 

Anies Baswedan asserted the Jakarta administration also focused on potential violations committed by large corporations as opposed to only low-income businesses, including street vendors, that operated on the city's sidewalks. 

IRSYAN HASYIM