Adianto P. Simamora, Jakarta – While smokers are being held accountable for air pollution, it is not clear what the consequences are for car owners who fail to get an exhaust emissions test done.

"We are still drafting it (local decree) on emissions tests," Yusiono Anwar Supalal, head of air control at the Jakarta Environmental Management Agency, told The Jakarta Post on Friday.

The 2005 bylaw on air pollution makes regular emissions tests mandatory for all private vehicles and bans smoking in a range of public places. It also promotes the use of compressed natural gas for public transportation vehicles.

The administration, however, needs to issue regulations and technical guidelines to support the implementation of the bylaw.

The smoking ban, which took effect Feb. 4, was not properly enforced from the start because of the absence of technical guidelines. Yusiono did not say when the supporting regulations would be ready.

"We have to discuss the details of both the regulations and the technical guidelines with the related agencies, "In the meantime we may apply the decree on emissions tests issued by the governor in 2000 to support the bylaw," he said.

The decree stipulates that private car owners are required to get an emissions test done once a year. The 2005 bylaw increases the frequency to at least two times a year.

The 2000 decree recommends the program be overseen by a commission established by Jakarta Governor and made up of city officials, environmentalists and representatives of non-governmental organizations.

The decree, however, focuses more on the appointment of auto workshops to perform the tests. Currently, there are 80 auto authorized workshops and 239 technicians certified to conduct the tests.

The air pollution bylaw stipulates the free "clean emissions" certificate would be the main requirement for renewing vehicle registrations. Vehicle owners will also be given a sticker to be placed on the inner top left side of the windshield, under the plastic film.

Police said the bylaw contradicted a 1980 law issued by the Transportation Ministry, which only requires public transportation and commercial vehicles to be tested. But the administration assured last week police would start ticketing car owners without certificates.

Meanwhile, NGO Clean Emissions Partner (MEB) expressed concern over the city's poor preparations for enforcing the bylaw. "The delay of the program shows the administration is not serious about reducing air pollution in Jakarta," Firdaus Cahyadi, MEB program manager, said in a statement.

He said any further delays would worsen air pollution in the city because research showed 70 percent of the pollution was caused by car exhaust emissions.