Govt won't revoke property decree<\/p>\n
Rendi A. Witular and Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The government has stated that it would not withdraw nor revise a
\nregulation on land acquisition for public development purposes,
\ndespite strong protests from some sections of the public.<\/p>\n
Minister of Public Works Djoko Kirmanto said that because many
\ninfrastructure projects had run aground due to problems related
\nto land acquisition, there was no other way for the government to
\nresolve the problem other than to issue such a regulation.<\/p>\n
\"There are many cases in which the construction of
\ninfrastructure projects become stalled due to rejection by a
\nsingle landowner,\" Djoko explained during a press conference
\nafter a meeting with Vice President Jusuf Kalla and other
\ngovernment officials to discuss the issue.<\/p>\n
The government issued last month Presidential Regulation No.
\n36\/2005 on land acquisition for public development purposes,
\nwhich effectively allows the government to acquire land for
\ncrucial infrastructure projects even if the landowners have not
\nagreed on the amount of compensation offered to them, thus
\nproviding certainty for crucial infrastructure development.<\/p>\n
The stipulation, which allows the government to revoke the
\nproperty rights of dissident landowners for the sake of the wider
\npublic good, has been the subject of heated protests by a number
\nof non-governmental organizations (NGOs). The NGOs suspect that
\nthe ruling actually was issued to serve the interest of the
\nwealthy infrastructure developers at the expense of the poor.<\/p>\n
The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) on
\nTuesday sent a letter to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono,
\nurging him to revoke the new regulation as it was against human
\nrights.<\/p>\n
Komnas HAM described the regulation as \"crueler than the land
\nregulation issued under the previous New Order regime\" and was
\nsimilar to a ruling imposed by the Dutch colonial government,
\nwhich could revoke private property rights.<\/p>\n
Komnas HAM said that the use of the term \"public interest\" in
\nthe regulation to refer to the development of infrastructure
\nfacilities such as toll roads and airports does not necessarily
\nserve the interest of the poor people.<\/p>\n
\"The development of toll roads has nothing to do with public
\ninterest because such roads will only serve the interests of the
\nwealthy car owners,\" he claimed.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, head of the National Land Agency (BPN) Muhammad
\nLutfi, said that the government was committed to provide
\ncompetitive compensation to landowners whose land would be
\naffected by development projects.<\/p>\n
He said that the amount of compensation offered to landowners
\nwould be based on the taxable value of their land and property
\n(NJOP), as determined by an independent appraisal team.<\/p>\n
However, the amount of the compensation would not exceed 20
\npercent of the NJOP, said Lutfi.<\/p>\n
Critics, however, have said that such a mechanism would not
\nnecessarily ensure fair prices, especially if local
\nadministrations had not revised the NJOP each year -- especially
\nin rapidly developing cities.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Minister of Information and Communication Sofyan
\nDjalil said that the new land regulations would allow the
\ngovernment to press ahead with the construction of the East Flood
\nCanal in the eastern part of Jakarta, and the construction of a
\nfew sections of the Jakarta Outer Ring Road toll projects, which
\nhave been stalled due to problems in land acquisition.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/govt-wont-revoke-property-decree-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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