Adianto P. Simamora, Jakarta – The Jakarta administration's emissions testing campaign ends next week, but there are signs that the city plans to issue further regulations to enforce testing.
Environmental activists warn that the campaign will be ineffective unless the administration makes an example of those caught violating the emissions testing regulation and takes them to court.
Damantoro, campaign program officer at clean air project Swisscontact, said the administration needed to focus on issuing a supporting decree that would provide technical guidelines for officers carrying out field investigations of emissions law violators.
He said any further delay in issuing such a decree would discourage the public from putting their vehicles through emissions tests. "It is time to enforce the regulation," he said Wednesday.
Generation for Clean Air chairman Gana Sugantana said he agreed with Damantoro and believed the public were waiting for the administration to take real action. "Attention must be focused on law enforcement. The public campaign on emissions testing has been adequate," he said.
Gana said his office had performed emissions tests on hundreds of thousands of private cars across the city. The tests are part of the air pollution control bylaw the administration passed last year.
Under the bylaw, which also banned smoking in certain areas and required public transportation to use compressed natural gas, people who fail to have emissions tests conducted on their cars face up to six months in jail or a fine of Rp 50 million.
The administration said the bylaw would need at least 25 gubernatorial decrees to support its implementation. So far, only one has been released, a smoking ban that was announced in April.
Governor Sutiyoso ordered the Jakarta Environmental Management Board (BPLHD) to organize a mass publicity campaign to remind people about the emissions tests, the last free round of which began on Sept. 11 and will end on Sept. 22.
"I don't know what's next. We haven't finished drafting the emissions testing decree," BPLHD air control division head Yosiono Anwar Supalal said.
He said the administration as considering involving all parties, including businesses and the public, in taking responsibility for the emissions testing program. "We learned from past experiences of financial problems after the smoking ban took effect in April," he said.
The administration has held several trials of hundreds of people caught smoking in restricted areas, however, as mass trials cost around Rp 30 million and 50 million to hold, it is expensive to have regular raids enforcing the ban.
The BPLHD has said it plans to supply free certificates and "emission free" stickers to authorized auto garages, as well as free training sessions in performing emissions tests. The city currently has 115 garages and 239 technicians authorized to perform emissions tests.
BPLHD head Budirama Natakusumah said the printing of the stickers and certificates could be handed over to the workshops themselves.
"It's one possible option. We'll just issue a serial number for the stickers or certificates," he told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday while observing emissions tests being held at the Indonesian Christian University in Cawang, East Jakarta.
The administration has distributed 20,000 certificates and stickers to garages since launching the first emissions testing campaign in February.
"We've been out of certificates and stickers since July. We don't have any more money for it as it wasn't included in the city budget," he said.
He said the legal enforcement of emissions tests would be done in stages. "It's just like when using motorcycle helmets became mandatory, or seat belts, which took a long time. We have to change people's attitudes first," Budirama said.
He said his office was still discussing with the police the possibility of emissions tests being a requirement when cars were being registered.