While many have long been skeptical of the Jakarta air pollution index run by the city administration, there has been little evidence to warrant such an attitude.

On Wednesday, however, it was announced that most of the existing air monitors in the city have been broken for some time.

The administration has blamed budgetary limitations for the problems, and said that ownership battles over the devices with the Environment Ministry had exacerbated the problem.

The monitoring units, which consist of screens and a supporting computer network, were purchased with a grant from the Swedish government and installed in Senayan and Kemayoran in Central Jakarta, Pondok Indah in South Jakarta and at the offices of the East and West Jakarta municipalities in 2000.

The city administration admitted that it had allocated only Rp 600 million this year for the operation of the five stations, far lower than the minimum Rp 400 million a unit needed.

"The air monitors are assets of the Environment Ministry and thus we can't propose a higher budget for their maintenance to the City Council," Rini Suryani, a spokesperson from the City Environment Management Board (BPLHD), told a forum Wednesday.

The administration spent Rp 1.5 billion maintaining the monitors in 2005, down from 2004's Rp 2.5 billion.

The monitors measure five parameters of main pollutants -- particulate matters with a diameter of less than 10 microns, nitrogen oxide, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide and ozone.

However, many people have questioned the veracity of the pollution index recorded by the air monitors.

"The air monitor in Senayan is the only station which is currently in a good condition," she said.

The telephone lines at the Kemayoran and Pondok Indah stations that send data to the center station at BPLHD do not work properly, and buildings and human activity near the monitors can affect the readings they take.

"Smoke produced by the canteen (near the East Jakarta monitor), for example, will cause a higher pollution index," she said.

Jakarta recorded 20 days of clean air in 2005, up from 18 days in 2004.

The Joint Committee for Leaded Gasoline Phase-out said the lack of funds provided air monitor maintenance could hamper the city's efforts to improve air quality.

"It is the basic data needed to make policies to improve air quality in the city," committee chairman Ahmad Safrudin said.

He said the administration received at least Rp 150 billion a year from taxes on fuel.

"Where does the money go? It could be used to improve the performance of air monitors," he said.

Jakarta has chronic air pollution problems, which prompted the local administration to impose the 2005 Bylaw on Air Pollution Control.

The bylaw ordered a ban on smoking in certain locations, mandatory emissions tests for private cars and the use of natural-compressed gas.

Source: www.thejakartapost.com