Jakarta's Sidewalk Budget Is Lowered

JAKARTA - DKI DPRD has cut its proposed sidewalk construction budget by Rp. 204 billion from Rp. 1.2 trillion. Budget cuts are decided in the discussion of the general policy of the temporary budget priority-ceiling (KUA-PPAS) between the Commission D DPRD DKI and the DKI Bina Marga Office.

"Due to the request for efficiency, the budget is reduced, so that the construction of sidewalks will be around Rp1 trillion," said Head of the DKI Jakarta Highways Agency Hari Nugroho after a meeting in the Commission D room of the DKI DPRD, Tuesday, November 12.

This pruning resulted in delays in construction work on sidewalks on Jalan Letjen Suprapto and Jalan Kebon Sirih which were included in the work on package one, as well as road for bicycle racing in package two. Hari said the three projects were chosen because next year there will be an Integrated Railroad (LRT) construction that passes through the road.

"Because our budget is efficient, so package one is reduced by around IDR 150 billion. Then if package two is reduced by IDR 50 billion. We will hold on to work on the road first," he said, adding that this cut would reduce the construction of the troatoar from 103 kilometers to 95 kilometers.

The sidewalk revitalization budget proposed by the City Highways Agency is considered too large by the DKI DPRD. Moreover, the sidewalk budget takes up 35 percent (Rp1.2 trillion) of the total work plan of the Bina Marga Office. In fact, currently the government is in deficit, so it requires budget efficiency.

"This is a quite a lot of budget. Meanwhile, in the agency, the total budget is only 3 T (Rp. 3 trillion). That means that if you are combined with the Sub-dept, it means that it is extraordinary," said Commission D chairman Ida Mahampang some time ago.

Instead of sidewalks, Ida suggested the DKI Jakarta Provincial Government to prioritize repair of reservoirs and river flow to anticipate the rainy season and potential flooding.

"Those that can take several months should be encouraged there. The flow of water to the river must be resolved immediately. Traffic jams, floods, this must be resolved immediately. But if I look at the concentration in this budget, which is quite large, on the sidewalk, the same in the arrangement. RW, "said Ida.