200 residents protest over land transfer

200 residents protest over land transfer

TANGERANG (JP): At least 200 residents of Parung Serab
subdistrict in Ciledug district here protested on Wednesday over
an alleged illegal transfer of the 25-hectare plot of land they
lived on to private firm PT Cipta Keluarga Tama.

They went to the local subdistrict office with five of their
representatives going separately to the Tangerang property tax
service office, questioning the status of their land.

They asked why their annual property tax notifications had not
been issued over the last five years having received information
that these were issued in the name of PT Cipta Keluarga Tama.

They claimed to have questioned the notification issuance with
the subdistrict head and employees of the tax service office, but
had always got the answer that the notifications were still being
processed.

"We were shocked when we learned that the notifications were
issued under PT Cipta Keluarga Tama's name. We never sold our
land to the company," one of the residents, Triadi, who claimed
to have a 2,000-square-meter plot, said.

Triadi said the local residents' property tax notifications
were issued soon after the company bought a piece of land in the
area in 1993, but not in the 25-hectare area.

The residents expressed fear that the issuance of the
notifications under the company's name would mean they had lost
their land ownership rights even though they still held the legal
land ownership documents, he said.

In response to the residents' protest, Sukri, the subdistrict
head, said that he was ready to be responsible for the confusion.
"I never gave any recommendation for the issuance of
notifications under the company's name. It's strange," Sukri told
the residents, promising to thoroughly investigate the case.

The tax service office head, Djunaidi Ab-Ham, however, said
the issuance of notifications under the company's name was made
in line with a recommendation from the subdistrict head.

"The problem is not here because we just issued the
notification based on the subdistrict head's recommendation,"
Djunaidi reiterated.

He said the company paid property taxes on the disputed land
until the 1995/1996 fiscal year, but never paid anything for the
following years.

He promised to make a new inventory on the residents who were
the legitimate owners of the land in the area. (41/jun)