Apartments on stilts, alternative to eviction

Apartments on stilts, alternative to eviction

Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

On one side, the city administration wants to have its 13 rivers
clean. One the other side, squatters desperately need better
housing and environment.

The combination of both seems impossible but East Jakarta
municipality has come up with an idea to build 1,000 low-cost
"apartments on concrete stilts". It is a pilot project situated
on the banks of Ciliwung River in Kampung Melayu.

East Jakarta Mayor Koesnan Abdul Halim said on Thursday that
around 1,000 families who are living along the riverbanks will be
relocated to the apartments.

"There will be five buildings of four-story apartments on
stilts on the six-hectare plot of land," he told reporters at
City Hall after a discussion on city planning and development.

"The apartments on stilts will not make the river shallower
and narrower. But at the same time, the squatters will enjoy
proper and affordable housing and environment," he added.

Squatters have long been blamed for worsening pollution in the
rivers due to their bad habit of throwing their household waste
into the rivers. The waste makes the rivers shallow and is prone
to floods during the rainy season.

Last year, Governor Sutiyoso launched a forcible eviction
campaign against squatters, arguing that they illegally occupied
riverbanks and state and privately owned land. The eviction
process received strong opposition from activists, who demanded
the administration to also provide housing for the poor.

The idea of "apartments on stilts", however, will contradict
Bylaw No. 11/1988 on public order, which stipulates that no
buildings are allowed on the riverbanks.

Koesnan argued that the construction of the apartments was a
part of large scale projects to rearrange areas in the
municipality. "We have submitted our proposals of four major
projects to the administration."

The municipality plans to establish Jatinegara Golden
Triangle, stretching from Jatinegara railway on Jl. Matraman to
Kampung Melayu bus terminal.

"At least 50 percent of the area is for commercial purposes,
while the rest will be for public facilities including parks, the
railway station and the bus terminal," Koesnan said.

Six heritage buildings -- including the former Jakarta
Military Command dormitory, Jatinegara railway station, Chinese
temple and Santa Maria school compound -- will be tourist
destinations.

Two other projects are the construction of the center for
small and medium scale industries in Cakung, and the
revitalization of a 20-hectare Rawa Bambon lake in Kelapa Dua
Wetan.

"We propose Rp 8 billion (US$875,273) fund from the 2005 city
budget for the four projects feasibility studies as well as their
masterplan," Koesnan said.

Meanwhile, Central Jakarta Mayor Hosea Petra Lumbun said his
municipality would also focus on the relocation of residents from
slum areas to low-cost apartments.

"Slum areas in Kramat Raya, Gunung Sahari and Matraman will be
on our top priority list. We will build low-cost apartments on
former school complexes, which have been left vacant due to lack
of new students, to become their new houses," he said.