The Indonesian capital has a serious rat problem. The grimy little creatures are everywhere, darting across the streets, popping out of roadside sewers, and, at least once, ending up in your bowl of bakso.

In the three years I've lived in this city, rats have been a constant, but still relatively tolerable, annoyance. Maybe somewhere else, these rats would be seen as enemy number one. But in a city already plagued by routine flooding, endless traffic, and shoddy infrastructure, "too many rats," never really struck me as a serious issue.

Well, maybe I was wrong. Jakarta's Deputy Governor Djarot Saiful Hidayat has earmarked Rp 80 million (US$6,152) for rat extermination. His plan? Offer residents Rp 20,000 for every rat they turn in: Dead or alive.

His boss, Jakarta Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama quickly clarified the plan, calling the rat bounty program an one-time offer. The governor was worried that the program would give rise to a new rat-breeding economy that would threaten to undermine the city's efforts by suddenly flooding the streets with new rats.

The governor has reason to be concerned. A similar program to cull cobras from British Colonial Delhi failed so spectacularly that economists later coined a new term to describe it: The corba effect.

So far reactions to the plan range from amused to apocalyptic, with most experts casting serious doubt on the effectiveness of the city's plan.

"This program needs further study as this plan affects a lot of people in a vast area," said Medrial Alamsyah, a Jakarta-based public policy expert. "Without a detailed mechanism on how things get done, and how people get paid, I don't think this is going to be effective. This may instead lead to chaos."

So we went to Central Jakarta to ask residents what they plan to do if the city's cash-for-rats program goes into effect.

VICE: The city plans to offer residents Rp 20,000 for every rat they catch.
Junaedi: I read about it in the newspaper yesterday, that anyone who can catch rats will get 20,000 rupiah for every rat they catch.

It's an odd request. Do people often hunt rats for cash?
Me and some folks in my neighborhood do that on daily basis, like every night around 11, we hunt rats with an airsoft gun. It's a common thing for me

There are so many rats in Jakarta. It's sorta horrifying.
They're everywhere, especially near the river banks.

So, what are you going to do if the government presses ahead with this plan?
If the city administration passes that regulation, I'm going to tell my rat hunting gang, and then we'll go hunting. We usually get dozens of rats every night after about four hours of hunting.

VICE:* Have you heard that the city is going to pay residents to catch all these rats?** Tamid*: Really? Oh I just heard about that from you.

If it actually happens, what will you do?
If the cash is legit and being handed out immediately then I'm in. I'm going to go on a rat hunt, instead of sitting here doing nothing.

Has it gotten that bad in Jakarta? Are rats really that big of an issue?
For me rats are problem—especially related to health issues. So I guess it's a dire situation right now.

*VICE: Have you heard of this new plan to help lower the rat population in Jakarta?*
Indra: Yes! I read that in the newspaper.

Do you think it will work?
I'm not sure that's going to be effective. Rats are God's creatures, it's impossible to make them all vanish.

Do you think this program could be abused? Won't people just start breeding rats
People may find a way to turn this into a money-making venture. And if that happens, then people are going to stop working and just become rat bounty hunters. Or maybe they will breed more rats for cash.

VICE:* Do you think this program will solve our rat problem?** Aziz*: I don't think so. It doesn't make sense. I don't want to do it, even if I get paid like 50 thousand rupiah for each rat. Rats are horrifying.

So what could make this plan more effective?
That idea won't work, unless the government does something real like maybe assign a cleaning squad to each community. That sounds like a more realistic solution for getting the rat problems solved.

How bad is the rat problem?
The rat issue in Jakarta is fucked up. They are in the sewers, in streets, it's one of the most horrible things about this city.

These interviews have been condensed and edited for clarity.