Government Restricts Groundwater Use In Critical Areas

Illustration (Photo: Doc. ANTARA)

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) has mapped a number of groundwater basins (CAT) areas in Indonesia into vulnerable, critical, and damaged categories.

Deputy Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Yuliot Tanjung detailed that a number of areas included in the vulnerable category were Yogyakarta, Karanganyar, Boyolali, Metro, Lampung and Kotabumi.

Meanwhile, the areas that are categorized as critical are Denpasar, Tabanan, Brantas, East Java, Palangkaraya, and Banjarmasin.

Meanwhile, the areas experiencing CAT damage are Jakarta; Karawang, Bekasi, Serang, Tangerang, Bogor, Bandung, Soreang, Pekalongan, Pemalang and Semarang.

"For critical areas, we will pay special attention so that exploitation is not carried out for groundwater," said Yuliot at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources Building, Wednesday, January 8.

In addition, the permits that have been given to business actors will also adjust groundwater conditions including groundwater reserves and necessities.

"In the context of licensing, structuring, as well as controlling, we will limit the use of groundwater," he said.

To anticipate further, the government will also install a meter to prevent excessive utilization.

If it is found that there are excessive groundwater utilization activities, it will impose sanctions up to the revocation of permits.

"Later, we will also evaluate areas that were previously prone to criticalization. We may evaluate some of the permits. What is more than the quota (use of ground water) we will withdraw," said Yuliot.