City govt blamed for slow housing projects

JAKARTA (JP): City councilors blamed the city administration yesterday for not quickly taking steps to force developers to build low-cost housing.

Lukman Mokoginta, chairman of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) faction in the local assembly said the slow progress of low-cost apartment projects was because of a poor response to a 1990 Governor's decree.

Under decree No. 540/90, developers owning more than 5,000 square meters of land are required to provide 20 percent of its plots for low-cost houses.

Lukman said the decree would be more effective and powerful it was made into a provincial regulation which must be obeyed by housing development companies.

Many developers have disregarded the decree on the grounds that it is too difficult for them to build low-cost houses on plush plots of land. Only a few have built low-cost apartments and then only in areas where land is cheap.

Lukman said the city administration should allow developers who did not build low-cost houses to pay compensation to the city administration.

Another city councilor, Fatomny Asaari, who represents the Golongan Karya faction agreed.

Fatomy suggested the city administration provide a special account for the funds and the money made available to the city housing agency.

"The developers must pay in advance before their project starts. There should be no excuse of limited financial resources," he said.

Meanwhile, head of the local housing office Ongky Sukasah said no apartments could be built on the city's land because the city needed more public facilities.

"The unused land which we own is designated for public facilities such as roads or underground infrastructure, housing is not categorized as a public facility," he said.

He said only when the Ministry of Public Housing and the National Land Agency declared housing as a public facility could the city's unused plots be used for housing.

The two councilors agreed the city administration should provide a complete inventory of its assets, including land maps so the availability of land could be determined.

"We have asked for the land inventory and the Geographic Information system of the city for a long time, but it has not been completed," Lukman said.

Talking about the importance of building low-cost housing Ongky called on developers to comply with the decree.

"The decree was issued six years ago, but we are still reviewing it," Ongky said, "if it goes on at this pace, no low- cost apartments will ever be built by developers."

Of the 70 developers in the city, only one has built a low- cost apartment in Pluit, North Jakarta. (04)