Mandalika Flooding, NTB DPRD asks the Lomboh Tengah Pemkab to demolish illegal villas

JAKARTA - The West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) DPRD encourages the Central Lombok Regency Government to take firm action against investors who build villas in hilly areas illegally following the floods that hit the Mandalika tourist area.

"The issue of excavation, dredging to build villas in the area must be the attention of the local government. Because yesterday's flood was due to development that did not pay attention to the environment," said Member of Commission II for Economic Affairs of the West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) DPRD, Lalu Arif Rahman Hakim in Mataram, Friday, quoted by Antara.

He saw many villas and homestays that had been built or in the construction phase outside the Mandalika Special Economic Zone without paying attention to the Regional Spatial Plan (RTRW) because they were built on hills or hillsides. Not only many accommodations, especially home stays, are built on drainage channels.

"We can see when the flood, the water that comes down from the hills is all mud. That happens because there are no trees to hold water there," he said.

"Not to mention that these buildings violate the spatial regulations, do not have a building permit, do not have Amdal, and damage the environment," continued the NTB DPRD member from the Central Lombok Regency District.

Miq Arif (nickname) stated that the government needed to re-evaluate the permits that had been issued and those in the process. This is important to do to ensure that the buildings to be built do not violate the rules.

"There must be a review of the permits issued by the government. Because if it is left without control, it is feared that environmental damage in the Mandalika area will worsen," said Miq Arif.

Previously, extreme weather that occurred in the Mandalika KEK area from Monday (23/2) to Tuesday (24/2) caused the tourist area to be flooded. However, the flood did not enter the Mandalika Circuit track.

"Even though extreme weather hit the Mandalika Circuit area, the track conditions are still maintained," said Mandalika Grand Prix Association (MGPA) President Director Priandi Satria.

According to him, the overflow of water seen comes from an area outside the circuit and flows to the edge of the track.

"The circuit drainage system functions optimally in draining water and maintaining the surface of the track from excessive puddles," he said.