City boosts low-cost vertical housing<\/p>\n
By Yoko N. Sari<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The construction of a low cost apartment on
\nJalan Penjernihan in Bendungan Hilir subdistrict, Central
\nJakarta, used to be home to 500 families. The 1.5-hectare area
\nwas ravaged by fire on Sept. 9.<\/p>\n
In October the fire victims clashed with security officers
\nwhen attempts were made to clear the area for the construction of
\nlow cost apartments to accommodate the squatters. When the
\nsquatters dug in the security forces resorted to using tear gas.<\/p>\n
Incidents like this happen frequently in Jakarta. Due to the
\nshortage of land and the inadequate supervision of state-owned
\nland many people tend to make use of such land by illegally
\nbuilding houses on it.<\/p>\n
When the government announces its intention to use the land,
\nhowever, it has to negotiate with squatters. This mostly ends
\nwith the government paying squatters compensation for the land.<\/p>\n
As the capital city of Indonesia, Jakarta is growing rapidly
\nand just like any other big city in the world it attracts people
\nwho feel they can earn a better living here.<\/p>\n
According to data at the city administration, in 1990 Jakarta
\nhad a population of 8.25 million with a growth rate of 2.4
\npercent per year.<\/p>\n
Governor Surjadi Soedirdja said the number of residents could
\npossibly reach 9.2 million if seasonal residents are also
\ncounted.<\/p>\n
It is not surprising that many of the seasonal residents stay
\nin modest houses and shanties in slum areas, which according to
\nthe city development planning board, now cover about 2,880
\nhectares in the city.<\/p>\n
Since he took office in 1992, Surjadi has launched a program
\nto phase out slum areas and move the dwellers into
\nvertical housing. This year Governor Surjadi has shown his
\nconsistency in the program.<\/p>\n
In October the city administration started the construction of
\nfour low-cost apartment projects with a combined investment
\ncommitment of Rp 57 billion (US$26.13 million).<\/p>\n
The four low-cost apartment blocks, three of which are still
\nunder construction, are in Bendungan Hilir, Karet Tengsin and
\nJati Bunder, Central Jakarta with another in Tebet Barat, South
\nJakarta. By the end of next year there will be a total of 1,100
\nlow-cost apartments available.<\/p>\n
The city housing office has stated that each year the city
\nneeds at least 7,500 low-cost apartments to reduce slum areas and
\ngive people self respect.<\/p>\n
The city housing office is expected to build a total of 5,000
\napartments and the remaining 2,500 by the city-owned property
\ndevelopment company PD Sarana Jaya.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, due to limited funds the city is projected to
\nbe able to build only 3,150 apartments each year from the
\n1995\/1996 fiscal year until the year of 2000.<\/p>\n
It means that by the end of this century at least 15,750 low-
\ncost apartments would have been built in Jakarta. The population
\nin the city is predicted to reach 33 million by the year 2019.<\/p>\n
As demonstrated by the Bendungan Hilir residents, the effort
\nto provide better housing for Jakartans has not been readily
\naccepted by slum dwellers. The people initially rejected the city
\nadministration's plan because they suspected their homes were
\nburned down intentionally to make way for apartments.<\/p>\n
They claimed it was too much of a coincidence that the city
\nadministration suddenly planned low-cost apartments right after
\nthe fire razed their houses, which is just what happened not so
\nlong ago in Tebet, South Jakarta, and in the 1980s in Penjaringan
\nin North Jakarta.<\/p>\n
The governor denied the allegation, saying the plan was drawn
\nup long before the fire.<\/p>\n
The governor stressed that sooner or later a great number of
\nJakartans would live in apartments due to the ever increasing
\nshortage of land in the capital.<\/p>\n
\"By building apartments we can maximize land use and build
\npublic facilities, such as parks and sport fields, all in one
\ncomplex,\" the governor said.<\/p>\n
Many people are still reluctant to live in apartments despite
\nthe city administration offering each family made homeless by the
\nBendungan Hilir fire Rp 400,000 (US$190) to help them rent
\ntemporary housing pending the completion of the apartments.<\/p>\n
Most squatters demanded the city administration pay
\ncompensation for the land they occupied, which is the root of the
\nproblem. Their demands for compensation stemmed from being forced
\nby city officials to pay property taxes like property owners.<\/p>\n
On the other hand, the administration claimed that most
\nresidents of slum areas did not warrant compensation because they
\nwere illegal settlers on state owned land.<\/p>\n
That the squatters were paying land taxes does not, according
\nto the city administration, indicate ownership. They were obliged
\nto pay taxes for using the land.<\/p>\n
Now that the administration has implemented a credit system
\nfor paying for the apartments the people are uneasy about it.<\/p>\n
It seems they failed to understand the city's intention of
\nproviding proper and affordable housing for which the
\nadministration has allocated a large subsidy.<\/p>\n
According to Ongky Soekasah, head of the City Public Housing,
\nthe price of each unit was set at around Rp 22 million, of which
\n50 percent will be subsidized. Buyers will pay less than 50
\npercent of the value price because part of it will be covered by
\nthe compensation paid by the administration when the land was
\nappropriated.<\/p>\n
\"Buyers can pay the remainder on an installment basis,\" Ongky
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
However, the system has developed a few complications because
\nthe city administration has not yet set the compensation amount.<\/p>\n
Residents of Tanah Tinggi low-cost apartments in Central
\nJakarta, who just moved in to their new units early this month,
\nare facing this problem.<\/p>\n
They are worried and puzzled over the installments and afraid
\nthat they will have to leave their new homes due to being unable
\nto meet the payments.<\/p>\n
\"Yes, I am happy with my new home. Even though it is smaller it
\nhas a better and healthier environment. But now I am worried
\nabout the installments because up until now there hasn't been any
\nannouncement about how much I have to pay,\" said Mrs. Onah, a
\nresident of the apartment block.<\/p>\n
Perhaps the city administration should create strategies to
\nmake this program acceptable to all. The advantages of living in
\nan apartment should be aggressively promoted.<\/p>\n
On the other hand, tougher supervision of government-owned
\nland should also be implemented to avoid incidents which in the
\nend only give the administration a bad name.<\/p>",
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