Minister of Maritime Affairs Susi Pudjiastuti revealed numerous errors in the general understanding of the execution and legal permits of land reclamation in Indonesia.
Pudjiastuti was speaking on reclamation at the KPK (Corruption Eradication Commission) building in Jakarta on Tuesday and naturally, Bali’s controversial proposed Benoa Bay reclamation project came up in the conversation.
According to Pudjiastuti, location permits are often conflated with permission for execution—and these apparently are not one and the same.
“For example, Benoa (Bali) got location permits from us, so they already considered themselves as getting permission to conduct the reclamation,” Pudjiastuti said, as quoted by Tribun Bali.
But really, a location permit is a permit issued by the Ministry of Maritime Affairs for any person, business entity or government to conduct an Environmental Impact Assessment—last we heard, Benoa megaproject developers were still waiting government approval on this EIA.
If the EIA is not approved, the reclamation cannot be implemented, the minister explained.
She also went on to explain the necessity of social assessments by the KLHK (Environment and Forestry) Minister to evaluate whether or not there’s any resistance from the local community for the construction of artificial islands. Moreoever, if people are not on board with reclamation, they can file a class action lawsuit, Pudjiastuti said.
Indonesia, our island nation, has 37 reclamation points, according to Pudjiastuti: 17 are already finished, while 20 are still in progress.
Of all the points, public opinion against the reclamation in Bali has clearly been the strongest. More than 10,000 people have reportedly joined the official activist-lead FORBali movement in rallies against the reclamation.
If the Bali reclamation were allowed to go through, developers would build a series of artificial islands in South Denpasar’s Benoa Bay with the stated purpose of amping up Bali’s tourist industry, constructing hotels, restaurants, and even a F1 track.
MORE ON THE BENOA RECLAMATION
VIDEO: Benoa Bay reclamation protesters burn tires in Bali
Tolak Reklamasi Benoa Bay: Mass demo blocks off toll road and harbor
Bali governor ‘powerless’ to do anything about Benoa reclamation
Benoa declared sacred area by PHDI high priests, PC about relationship to reclamation project
