REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA – Jakarta Bay reclamation had entered the legal process for more than a year. The panel of judges in Jakarta Administrative Court would read the verdict of the case at the local court on Thursday (March 16).

Fishermen communities and some activists said they were optimistic that Jakarta Administrative Court would favor the lawsuit related to the license to conduct reclamation in F, I, and K islands. "We were optimistic that the judges of the Administrative Court would give a fair decision to the fishermen and the ecosystem in Jakarta Bay. During the trial we have submitted 109 evidences, presented five expert witnesses and six fishermen to the court,” said the rapporteur Edo Rakhman to Republika.co.id on Wednesday.

Edo said there were some reasons that their optimism. Firstly, they had submitted a number of evidence that the license for reclamation in F, I, and K islands issued by inactive Jakarta Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama (Ahok) had violated the law. Based on the Presidential Decree No. 54 in 2008, the permission for conducting reclamation in Jakarta Bay should be under the authority of central government or the Ministry of Marine and Fisheries.

Secondly, Ahok as the defendant had violated the standard procedure in making the reclamation policy. It was not based on the local regulation on zoning plan in the coastal area and small islands (Perda RZWP3K). The permission issue was not initiated by the issue of location permission. It had not any recommendation from the ministry of marine and fisheries.

The other important thing was that the permission for conducting reclamation given to the developers did not have any strategic environmental assessment (KLHS) and environmental impact analysis (Amdal).

"It was the basic requirements to be met by Jakarta governor before issuing the object of dispute (permission for conducting reclamation of F, I, and K islands). But all the requirements was neglected by the defendant,” he said.

The Chairman of Central Board of the Indonesian Traditional Fisherman Unity (KNTI) Marthin Hadiwinata said the permission did not only violate the environmental law. The process did not involve the societies in the coastal area, especially the potentially impacted fishermen.

He argued that the reclamation project was not for the people’s sake. It was aimed at meeting the desire of the property developers and some high level economic group.

He added that, the last year, the central government had stopped some reclamation projects in Jakarta Bay due to many violations. All the facts had proven that there were something wrong with the reclamation projects.

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