Fidelis E. Satriastanti – Environment Minister Gusti Muhammad Hatta on Tuesday denied his ministry had done anything wrong in presenting the Jakarta satellite city of Bekasi with an award for environmental cleanliness.

The Bekasi administration won the Adipura award last year, despite being home to the mammoth Bantar Gebang landfill, several heavy-polluting industrial estates and the Citarum River – the world's dirtiest, according to the Asian Development Bank.

Bekasi Mayor Mochtar Muhammad has since been arrested, charged with ordering city officials to bribe selection committee members deciding the winners of the award. While there is no cash prize that comes with the award, it does carry name recognition.

Last week, two ministry special staff members were questioned by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), which has also seized several documents and computers from the ministry's offices.

However, Gusti said there was nothing untoward in the decision to present Bekasi with the award, adding that if indications of bribery were discovered, he would revoke the award.

"We haven't revoked it yet because it hasn't been proven that there was any corruption of the process, even though the mayor has been named a suspect," he said during a hearing with House of Representatives Commission VII, which oversees environmental affairs.

"Our assessment [of Bekasi's environmental credentials] was appropriate because we went by the 2009 ministerial regulation on the issue, which says any city scoring a grade of 71 to 80 is categorized as good. We previously set the minimum for 'good' at 73, but we figured it was hard enough to get a 70, so we set it at 71." Bekasi scored a 71 to win the award.

Gusti also said there was nothing unusual about a city as polluted as Bekasi being given the green award. "The Adipura is also intended as an incentive to encourage cities to become cleaner," he said.

Satya Widya Yudha, a Commission VII member from the Golkar Party, said the ministry should include outside parties in assessing cities for the Adipura award, in order to prevent bribery.

Bekasi's embattled mayor told his supporters late last year that he would fight the charges that had been laid against him.

"Do not dare to take the Adipura away," he said to thunderous applause. "Whoever dares to take the Adipura from the city of Bekasi, we shall fight them!"