The Head Of SDA Baru Jakarta Unites Ahok And Anies, Asking The Naturalization-Normalization Dichotomy No Longer Exist

Illustrations (Photo: Irfan Meidianto / VOI)

JAKARTA - Head of DKI's Water Resources Agency (Kadis SDA) Yusmada Faizal asked the public not to distinguish between the terms naturalization and river normalization in the flood control program.

This was conveyed by Yusmada after he was appointed by the Governor of DKI Jakarta Anies Baswedan as Head of the SDA DKI Jakarta Service.

"There is no more naturalization and normalization dichotomy," said Yusmada at the DKI City Hall, Central Jakarta, Tuesday, February 23.

According to Yusmada, naturalization and normalization are programs that ensure that there are sufficient channels to accommodate water during the rainy season. The goal is to minimize water runoff to settlements.

"Naturalization and normalization are related to the water channels we ensure that they are of sufficient capacity. The problem of handling it later can be natural methods or can sheet pile to retain cliff walls, that's the construction," said Yusmada.

This year, normalization or naturalization will be carried out in the Ciliwung and Sunter rivers.

Since last year, the DKI Jakarta Provincial Government has taken care of the process of land acquisition for settlements along riverbanks in order to launch the program.

Meanwhile, the river construction work is in the hands of the central government, in this case the Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing (PUPR).

"There used to be Rp. 340 billion (land acquisition) that we have completed. This year there will be a budget of around Rp. Rp. 1 trillion to be cleared that time, with reservoirs," he said.

As a reminder, the use of the term normalization with river naturalization is often debated. In fact, both have the goal of widening the river body.

The concept of river normaliasation, simply put, is to block the river. This program has been implemented since Basuki Tjahaja Purnama (Ahok) became the Governor of DKI.

Meanwhile, during Anies Baswedan's early term as Governor of DKI, Anies said naturalization was to restore absorption areas around river bodies by providing land and trees along the river bodies.

"(The flood control program), one of which is the naturalization of the river. How the river can manage water properly. How to secure it is not abundant, but also the river ecosystem is maintained," said Anies, on Wednesday, February 7, 2018.