New housing developments blamed for rise in floods in Tangerang
Multa Fidrus
The Jakarta Post, Tangerang
Hundreds of residents living near housing developments have blamed developers for floods, saying they neglected to conduct mandatory environmental impact studies before reclaiming land.
Several residents told The Jakarta Post they had submitted complaints to the nearby Alam Sutra housing complex for allegedly causing recent floods in surrounding areas, including Kunciran and Pondok Pakulonan subdistricts.
"Our subdistrict is always flooded -- every time heavy rains come. This never happened until the Alam Sutra housing complex reclaimed the land for Block 13 five months ago," said Brig. Gen. Bahir Alamsyah, a resident of Pondok Pakulonan, North Serpong district, on Friday.
The developers never discussed the environmental impact of the project with locals, even though every housing developer is required to do so before obtaining a permit to build or develop a complex, he said.
"As a large housing developer, Alam Sutra must consider the negative impacts on surrounding villages. As a result of their negligence, we are now experiencing the negative impacts," he said.
Two residents of Kunciran subdistrict, Martinus and Rusmin Nuryadin, said their neighborhood never flooded until Alam Sutra reclaimed the higher land south of their village.
"I have been living here for 20 years. I never saw floods before the new construction," he said.
Residents of both subdistricts have asked the developers to accelerate the ongoing construction of proper drainage, and to create an artificial lake to retain water on the complex as it promised the Tangerang regency administration and legislative council.
Bahir, Martinus and Rusmin said residents would also urge Tangerang Regent Ismet Iskandar, Tangerang Mayor Wahidin Halim and councilors to visit the area, to determine how best to resolve the problems.
In response to the complaints, a representative of the developer, Lisa, said in anticipation of floods, Alam Sutra had repaired the drainage in Pondok Pakulonan.
"So, complaints filed by Pakulonan residents have settled down," she said.
"Now, we are trying to find the best solution to settle the floods faced by residents of Kunciran."
However, she said, the floods in Kunciran subdistrict had nothing to do with the land reclamation in Block 13.
Previously, there were reports of residents of Poris Plawad subdistrict, Tangerang, protesting against the developers of the Taman Royal housing complex, saying they had caused floods in surrounding neighborhoods.
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