City bureaucrats have promised much of the monorail, including cleaner air and fewer traffic jams, but others are calling for its construction to be halted pending an environmental impact analysis.

Coordinator of the Indonesian Forum for the Environment's (WALHI) Jakarta chapter Slamet Darruiny said on Monday no construction project could go ahead without an environmental impact analysis.

The Jakarta administration needs to take the issue seriously, he said, as hopes for a greener city were pinned on the monorail.

"The developer must have studied the affected areas, the economic aspects and the social aspects, before embarking on its construction,

"But the city administration allowed the project to go ahead without an analysis, which was a violation of the law," he said.

Although in its infancy -- only a section on Jl. Rasuna Said, Kuningan, South Jakarta is underway -- the monorail project is causing traffic jams due to construction work and a deafening noise due to the operation of heavy machinery.

Bylaw No. 27/1999 stipulates the administration can only issue a building permit after receiving the results of an environmental impact analysis.

Jakarta Environmental Agency (BPLHD) head Kosasih Wirahadikusumah said his office had completed its assessment of the environmental impact of the monorail project but had not issued the results.

He said the agency did not have the authority to take action against the developers

"We only have the right to issue the analysis and cannot intervene in the issuance of a building permit," he said.

Kosasih said a construction project could commence without the analysis.

"The foundation for the monorail and its main pillars have been put in place as the developer has a permit to do so. It doesn't matter. We will make the results of the analysis known within the week," he said.

Slamet challenged Kosasih's statement.

"The administration has the right to revoke a building permit if such concerns have not been dealt with. The regulation also applies to the monorail project. I don't see the difference," he said.

He said the problem had been brought up several times with the environmental agency but no solution was offered.

Deputy speaker of City Council Commission D for public works Mukhayar said the analysis was crucial.

"The analysis must be completed before the main pillars are established on Jl. Rasuna Said," he said.

The monorail, which is being touted as a natural fit for the city, will consist of two lines.

The first, called the Green Line, will link the business districts of Kuningan and Sudirman in South Jakarta, while the second, the Blue Line, will serve a less lucrative corridor from Kampung Melayu in East Jakarta to the Taman Anggrek shopping center in West Jakarta.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/yesterdaydetail.asp?fileid=20060124.G01