278 land disputes reported in 1997/98
278 land disputes reported in 1997/98
JAKARTA (JP): Two hundred and seventy-eight land disputes have
been reported to the government so far in the 1997/1998 fiscal
year, State Minister of Agrarian Affairs Soni Harsono told the
House of Representatives yesterday.
Soni, also the National Land Agency chairman, said that 153 of
the cases had been reported in letters sent to PO Box 5000, set
up at the Vice President's office to receive public complaints,
and 125 had been directly reported to his agency.
"Generally, those complaints are addressed immediately and
follow-ups are made. But not all of them get equal treatment
because sometimes (the complaints) are unclear," Soni said.
He conceded that sometimes it was hard to solve a land dispute
and some were even beyond the land agency's authority.
Some cases were resolved through court rulings or through
settlements between disputing parties, Soni said.
Six hundred and twenty-four land disputes were reported in the
1995/1996 fiscal year and 486 were reported in 1996/1997. The
cases included illegal occupation of state land or land belonging
to corporate bodies or individuals.
Land disputes often arose over people occupying state land.
Disputes arose if the state agency which owned the legal right to
use land had abandoned it and then reclaimed it after a long
time, he said.
He cited a highly publicized case in 1995 in Jenggawah near
Jember, East Java, where local tobacco farmers had clashed with a
state plantation company for "taking over their land".
"It's been inter-departmentally handled and a solution is now
being worked on for the disputing parties in the form of an offer
of partnership between the plantation and the people. But they
haven't called it a deal yet," Soni said.
Jenggawah farmers revolted in August 1995 when the state
tobacco planting company PTP XXVII refused to renew farmers'
leases. The angry farmers, who had been tilling the land for
generations, set fire to the company's office and storerooms.
The key to this case is the land's status , which has been
disputed since the 1970s by about 1,000 farmers and the state
company, which claims to hold title to the land.
Certificates
Soni, who represented the government yesterday as he responded
to questions raised by House Commission II for home affairs, told
reporters during a break that his office had issued a decree
which enabled individuals to gain ownership certificates for
modest housing.
Decree No. 9/1997, issued July 2, means that a leaseholder of
a modest house -- built on up to 200 square meters of land --
only has to pay Rp 15,000 to get an ownership certificate.
Leaseholders of modest housing -- mostly poorer people -- had
only been able to hold certificates entitling them to lease their
houses for up to 20 years.
"Copies of the decree have been sent to our provincial offices
so it can be implemented soon," Soni said. (aan)