GOVERNOR NARANG DISAPPOINTED OVER THREE NEGLECTED MAJOR PROJECTS

Palangkaraya, Aug 5 (ANTARA)- Central Kalimantan Governor Teras Narang said he was disappointed and rather confused that three major projects which have the potential to promote the living standard of his people have been neglected.

The three big projects included a coal-fired power plant (PLTU) with a capacity of 2 x 60 megawatts (MW) in Pulang Pisau (Pulpis) regency, he said commemorating his four years in office at Aquarius Hotel, Palangkaraya, Tuesday night.

The event was attended by members of the Central Kalimantan provincial administration, the local legislative assembly (DPRD), businesspeople, public figures and other circles.

Teras Narang said actually the government had pledged that the PLTU will be completed in 2010 at the latest, but still nothing is being done up till now.

The other major projects are the opening of one hectares of peatland for farming covering the regencies of Kapuas, Pulang Pisau, South Barito, and Palangkraya city.

"This project has destroyed 1.4 hectares of peatland, and unless rehabilitated soon, it will become a serious tragedy to the people of Central Kalimantan," he said.

But the project which had been earnestly waited for by the people of Central Kalimantan is the completion of the Provincial Zoning Plan (RTRWP), without which it would be rather difficult to build the province because many of its parts are forested land, and each time there was a plan to change the function of the land for other purposes, it is always obstructed by regulations of the Ministry of Forestry.

"Frankly speaking, practically all of Central Kalimantan are forested land," he added.

If all its areas have the status of forested land, and had yet to be changed for other purposes, how is the Central Kalimantan administration supposed to build the province.

He said that the RTRWP problem had remained unsettled since 1982, and to overcome the problem Regional Regulation No 8 of 2003 had been issued, to empower the province to use the forested land for other more beneficial purposes, but the regional regulation appeared to be overrun by a higher regulation.

So that at a time the Central Kalimantan administration wished to use the land such as to build plantations or industries, the central government always admonished, for the reason that the forested land had yet to be converted for other purposes.

Under these circumstances, the central government, in this case the ministry of forestry and the regional legislative assembly (DPRD) discuss the problem immediately then approving the RTRWP, to enable the provincial administration to build the area.