Minister Of Home Affairs Tito Expressed The Urgency Of The Establishment Of The Agglomeration Council In Jakarta

Minister of Home Affairs (Mendagri) Muhammad Tito Karnavian. (doc. Puspen Kemendagri)

JAKARTA - Minister of Home Affairs (Mendagri) Tito Karnavian revealed the urgency of establishing the Agglomeration Council which includes Jakarta and its surrounding cities. The discourse has become a public spotlight in line with the discussion of the Draft Law (RUU) of the Special Region of Jakarta circulating, as a regulation governing Jakarta after losing the status of the Special Capital City Region.

The areas included in the Jakarta agglomeration area are Bogor Regency, Tangerang Regency, Bekasi Regency, Cianjur Regency, Bogor City, Depok City, Tangerang City, South Tangerang City, and Bekasi City.

"Jakarta and the surrounding satellite city are already very intense, there are more than 35 million people for all of this agglomeration. The interaction and mobility are very high. There are many things that must be harmonized, starting from development planning to evaluation. This needs coordination. Otherwise, it could be chaotic," Tito said in a written statement, Wednesday, December 20.

Regarding its urgency, Tito gave an example of the problem of flooding that requires policy synchronization between the government in the highlands and those in the lowerlands. Likewise with transportation problems, because Jakarta and its surrounding cities do not have natural boundaries.

"For example, flooding. Water catchment areas in Cianjur and Bogor (regencies) must carry out a reforestation. Then the central areas, Bogor and Depok, must be prepared a kind of reservoir. Then the lower areas, DKI Jakarta, must prepare river widening, canal banjar, sodetan. If each regional head works with its own concept, the victims are the people," he said.

Then, the former National Police Chief emphasized that the idea of forming an Agglomeration Council had existed since 2022, so it had nothing to do with the interests or promises of a presidential candidate campaign. In addition, the establishment of a body that focuses on harmonizing policies is not something new for Indonesia.

Therefore, whatever the name is later, a mechanism is needed for harmonization and synchronization in agglomeration. This is indeed a necessity. And this is the same as the Papuan Development Acceleration Agency led by the Vice President (Vice President) which has been running for more than two years," said Tito.

"Why is it led by the Vice President? Because this involves four coordinating ministries. If there are only two ministries, they will be locked. And I emphasize, the Agglomeration Council is not the executor. He is only synchronizing, planning, and evaluation. The executor is the respective local government," Tito continued.

With the presence of the Agglomeration Council, Tito is optimistic that Jakarta can become a global economic city, such as New York in the United States or Sydney in Australia. This means that the value of more than Jakarta will not be lost even though its political center has moved to the State Capital (IKN) of the Archipelago.

"So the special authority given by Jakarta in the draft DKJ Bill proposed by the government is to support Jakarta to become a global city posture, economic center and financial services," he said.