The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Fri, 06/19/2009 11:54 AM  |  East Java


The House of Representatives and the Sidoarjo Mudflow Management Agency (BPLS) have agreed that the government should take over the responsibility for the mudflow tragedy from Lapindo Brantas Inc.

"We will ask the President to revise Presidential Regulation No. 
48/2008 to increase the authority of the agency in order to help PT 
Lapindo handle the crisis," Social Affairs Minister and BPLS head, 
Bachtiar Chamsyah, told journalists after a meeting with legislators 
and PT Lapindo in Jakarta on Thursday.


"We cannot use the regulation anymore because it has failed to 
resolve problems in the field," Golkar Party legislator Priyo Budi 
said earlier during the meeting.


The BPLS needs strong regulations to control the situation, which is 
currently under the guise of PT Lapindo, Priyo said.


Article 15 in the regulation, for example, forbids the finance 
minister from allocating funds to reinforce embankments around the 
mudflow area. This maintenance is required to protect other areas 
from future devastation.


"The regulation states that Lapindo is responsible for building and 
maintaining the embankments. However, the Supreme Court has found the 
company not guilty of negligence, so this is our responsibility as 
the government *to resolve the case*," Bachtiar added.


He said Lapindo, which is partly owned by the family of chief welfare 
minister Aburizal Bakrie, had also suffered significant losses during 
the global financial crisis.


"Lapindo cannot handle the situation while the mud continues to flow. 
We have to protect our people ," Bachtiar said.


The company was spending Rp 2 billion (US$200,000) maintaining the 
embankments every week, and faces up to Rp 7 billion in costs if a 
single embankment collapses, he said.


Bachtiar did not elaborate on whether Lapindo would accept the 
government assistance as a loan or as free services.


"It depends on the revision, but all things related to the Lapindo 
mudflow will now be handled by BPLS," he said.


The Finance Ministry's director general for budget management, Anny 
Ratnawati, denied his office had hampered the agency from receiving 
funding, claiming the ministry had done all that was stipulated by 
the law and regulation.


Under the regulation, the government will compensate victims from 
three affected villages if PT Lapindo completes payouts to 80 percent 
of the remaining mudflow victims.


"The spirit of this regulation is to encourage Lapindo to fulfil 
their promise in accordance with the schedule," Anny said.


"The regulation also firmly stipulates that Lapindo is responsible 
for maintaining the embankments and handling the mudflow," she added. 
(naf)