THE national strategic projects (PSN) that have been pushed forward during the administration of President Joko Widodo have resulted in extraordinary problems. These strategic projects have been a means of concealing environmental crimes. One of these is the Yogyakarta-Bawen Toll Road project, which has used illegal fill dirt.

This project has now resulted in a negative impact, namely environmental damage that will be difficult to put right. An investigation by this magazine highlights the fact that the construction of the Yogyakarta-Bawen Toll Road used illegal fill soil from the Sleman geoheritage area. This illegal soil was then transported by a company working with Adhi Karya, the main contractor in the Rp5.03 trillion project.

According to research conducted by the Yogyakarta chapter of Walhi, a non-governmental organization focusing on environmental issues, illegal fill dirt was also used for the Yogyakarta-Solo Toll Road. This illegal extraction of soil has resulted in serious environmental damage. A green area within the Sleman core geoheritage zone, which should remain completely untouched, has been cleared.

This has led to the loss of water sources needed by local people. Meanwhile, mud settling on riverbeds has made them shallower. If this clearing of land is allowed to continue, it is not impossible that there will be landslides and major flooding.

The Yogyakarta Provincial administration has banned the arbitrary extraction of soil from the Sleman geoheritage zone. However, it is still continuing in the buffer zone, which is also illegal. Demonstrations by people living around the extraction location and environmental activists opposed to the environmental damage have been viewed as irrelevant and not been treated seriously. As a result, the damage has spread, and an environmental disaster is only a matter of time.

These illegal actions have continued because the vendors and contractors are racing to meet the deadline for the official opening of the Yogyakarta-Bawen Toll Road before Jokowi leaves office in October. In order to ensure that Jokowi leaves a legacy, the term PSN has been used to cover up a number of environmental crimes. It is difficult to prosecute those responsible because there are indications that law enforcers are backing the illegal activities. They hide behind the need for the continuation of Jokowi’s strategic projects.

All of this has led to the developmentalism strategy that Jokowi has followed since he came to power in 2014. As of the end of this year, the government has accelerated 201 PSNs. The claim that the construction of infrastructure is aimed at improving the people’s well-being has not been accompanied by proper environmental studies. The people have not been involved, and have been reduced to spectators, or even victims, of the construction of infrastructure. Meanwhile, regulations have been shortcut so that Jokowi’s signature can be engraved on these projects before the new president is elected.

In its remaining six months, it is difficult to hope for ecological repentance from the government, as called for by Pope Francis. Instead of environmental improvements, all we see is non-stop environmental destruction. President Jokowi should not be proud or boast of the infrastructure he has built through these strategic national projects because behind this infrastructure, there is extraordinary environmental damage that future generations will have to pay for.