10,000 face eviction for water project

Oyos Saroso H.N., The Jakarta Post/Bandarlampung

Bandarlampung municipal administration is planning to demolish some 5,000 stilt houses in Lampung Bay, in line with its plan to implement the so-termed Waterfront City Project.

The demolition of the houses -- set to be carried out in the near future -- became certain when the administration recently issued a bylaw on city planning and a mayoral decree on the demolition of stilt houses that were erected without permission.

Bandarlampung Mayor Suharto ordered the area's three district heads to warn residents to prepare to move out due to the imminent demolition of their homes.

Suharto said in a circular that the houses were illegal as they were built over water that is state territory. The 5,000 houses accommodate over 10,000 people.

Residents have pleaded their case, asking the administration to reject the bylaw.

Secretary-general of the Lampung Fishermen's Union Joko Purwanto, said the residents' houses and surroundings were their life, arguing that the planned demolitions would leave them unemployed and homeless.

Joko insisted on Saturday that the houses were not illegal, saying that the fishermen had paid land and building taxes and possessed identity cards.

Executive director of the Indonesian Forum for the Environment's (Walhi) Lampung office Mukri Priatna, lashed out at the government on Saturday, saying it had not discussed the plan with Lampung Bay stakeholders.

"The Water Front City Project will only benefit government officials and businessmen, and cause the fishermen to suffer," said Mukri.

He said the project was overly ambitious and could endanger the ecosystem of the bay.

But, the secretary of Bandarlampung Development Planning Body (Bappeda), Adi Erliansyah, denied the accusation.

He said that, prior to the issuance of the bylaw and the mayoral decree, the government had already invited all stakeholders to discuss the matter, including community figures, non-governmental organizations and academics.

He said that the issuance of the bylaw and the decree had been according to procedure.

According to Bylaw No. 4/2004 -- which was issued in August -- the Bandarlampung administration is allowed to develop the bay for, among others, tourism purposes. The administration plans to reclaim a 15-kilometer stretch of the bay.