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THE COODINATING Minister for Food together with the Ministry of Environment (KLH) sealed hotels, resorts, golf courses and luxury houses in the Sentul area, Bogor Regency, West Java, on Thursday (03/13), 2025.
The sealing was carried out because the locations were suspected of violating environmental regulations in the upstream area of the Cikeas-Cileungsi River Basin (DAS).
The Coordinating Minister for Food, Zulkifli Hasan, together with the Minister of Environment, Hanif Faisol, stopped the activities at the site by installing a sign for Environmental Protection and Management (PPLH). The sign prohibits all activities in the area.
“Warning: This area is under the supervision of environmental supervisors,” reads the sign.
Zulkifli Hasan explained that the sealing was done because a number of serious violations were found, including inconsistencies between environmental permits and activities in the area.
“There are several notices from the Ministry of Environment that are serious violations. There is sedimentation in the Ciangsana River, there are no infiltration wells, and the most serious is cut and fill. In addition, there is an environmental permit, but the implementation on the ground is different,” he said.
According to him, land conversion and development not in accordance with environmental regulations have damaged the ecosystem in the upper reaches of the Cikeas-Cileungsi watershed. This condition contributes to flooding and landslides in the Bekasi and Bogor areas during the rainy season.
Zulkifli emphasized that the Sentul area has a strategic role as a water catchment area and buffer for the Jakarta-Bogor-Depok-Tangerang-Bekasi (Jabodetabek) ecosystem.
If environmental regulations are not enforced, the consequences will not only be natural disasters, but also threaten national food security due to the reduction of agricultural land.
“The most important thing is a clear and clean government, starting with licensing, spatial planning and environmental management. The Ministry of Environment has found many violations that need to be fixed immediately,” he said.
He concluded that if this becomes everybody’s home, if the river is damaged, the environment is damaged, well, it’s over. Because this is the upstream, the center is here. That’s why this has to be fixed. [kompas.com/photo antara]
