Nurfika Osman – Industry experts on Thursday blamed corrupt city officials for the sharp decline in the amount of green space in the capital.
Nirwono Joga, head of the Indonesia Landscape Architecture Study Group, told a discussion that some officials at Jakarta's Spatial Planning Agency were susceptible to bribes from developers who wanted to construct projects on land mandated to remain as green space.
"Businessmen can easily bribe officials at the city planning agency and get permits to construct their buildings," he said, adding that some buildings in the Sudirman Central Business District and Mega Kuningan area did not fulfill the standard requirement to designate 30 percent of the property to green spaces.
According to Joga, green spaces in the capital have been disappearing over the past several decades.
Jakarta's Urban Spatial Planning (RTRW) plan for 1965-85 aimed to keep green 37.2 percent of Jakarta. But city planning data for 1985-2005 shows the city's green spaces stood at 25.85 percent, he said.
Today, green spaces make up a mere 9.97 percent of the city's 650 square kilometers. But the plan for 2000-10 mandates that urban green spaces should comprise a minimum of 13.49 percent of Jakarta's total area.
"In just 25 years we've lost more than 28 percent of our urban green space," Joga said, adding that the close relationship between government officials and the business elite was to blame.
Refusing to mention any names, Joga said there were 39 service stations in the capital owned by elite businessmen that did not meet the city's requirement to allot 30 percent of the stations' land area to green spaces.
"When the buildings belong to government officials and the people who are close to them, it is hard for authorities to punish them. They can't do anything," Joga said. "Thus [Jakarta's] open green spaces continue to decline every year."
Bernardus Djonoputro, the secretary general of the Indonesian Association of Planners, agreed with Joga and called for an immediate end to the corruption involved in the issuance permits for building construction.
"The fact that businessmen bribe officials has become commonplace," Bernardus said. "This requires that we take action to immediately stop such practices through a building supervision system and a conducive political situation. We must focus on the best practices, innovative solutions, and cutting edge-approaches to create green space."
Wiriyatmoko, head of the city administration's Spatial Planning Agency, however, denied all allegations of dishonesty. "There is no corruption in my agency," Wiriyatmoko claimed. "We operate based on the law. What they [Joga and Bernardus] say is rubbish."