Considered Ineffective In Resolving Floods, DKI DPRD Eliminates Infiltration Well Budget In 2022

JAKARTA - The DKI Jakarta DPRD Budget Agency (Banggar) has decided to drop the budget for the construction of vertical infiltration or drainage wells proposed by the DKI Provincial Government in the DKI Regional Budget for the 2022 fiscal year.

Deputy Chairman of Commission D of the DKI Jakarta DPRD, Nova Harivan Paloh, said that this decision was made at the last Banggar discussion, with the previous year's infiltration well budget being proposed at Rp120 billion.

"At the Banggar meeting, the final agreement (the infiltration well budget) was finally nullified. So, now there are no more activities (funded by the APBD) for infiltration wells," Nova told reporters, Thursday, November 1.

Nova said that the abolition of the infiltration well budget next year was decided by the chairman of the DKI DPRD as well as the Banggar Chair of the DKI DPRD Prasetyo Edi Marsudi because he received complaints from a number of council members.

Several members of the DKI DPRD consider infiltration wells to be ineffective in helping to solve the flood problem in Jakarta. In the general view of the DPRD faction against the draft regional regulation of DKI regarding the 2022 budget year, last November 16, there were five factions that asked for infiltration wells to be evaluated.

The five factions are PDIP, PSI, Nasdem, Golkar, and PKB-PPP. Meanwhile, the other four factions namely Gerindra, PKS, PAN, and Democrats did not mention the infiltration well program.

"From my friends, there are really some inputs, in some areas there are (infiltration wells) which seem unable to handle the flood problem, related to the water infiltration problem. There are only a few complaints," said Nova.

Deputy Governor of DKI Jakarta Ahmad Riza Patria admitted that he could not dispute the decision of the DKI DPRD regarding the abolition of the infiltration well budget next year.

"Go ahead. Whether or not the infiltration well program next year is in accordance with the existing agreement and budget. I think DPRD friends have coordinated with the service, which programs are priority and mutually agreed upon," said Riza.

Regarding the assumption that infiltration wells are ineffective, Riza emphasized that infiltration wells are not the only program that the DKI Provincial Government is working on to control the impact of flooding.

"There are various flood control programs, not all infiltration wells, yes. So, there are dredging programs, construction of reservoirs, ponds, reservoirs, procurement of mobile pumps, static pumps, polders, embankments. So, there are lots of them," he said.