City Hall urged to issue warnings on demolition
City Hall urged to issue warnings on demolition
JAKARTA (JP): The City Council wants the local administration
to announce clear public plans on the future demolition of
illegally constructed houses, especially those built by
squatters.
The secretary of the council's Commission A, Abdoelhamid
Notowidagdo, said that with such plans the executives could do
everything systematically. Commission A is in charge of, among
other things, administrative affairs.
"The owners of houses which will be demolished could also make
any necessary preparations before they give up their houses to
the demolition team," Abdoelhamid said.
With such an open policy residents' protests against
demolition could be reduced.
The Commission A suggestion was presented in a hearing with
other commissions on Monday, he said.
Abdoelhamid said the proposal was made after many complaints
were filed by residents whose houses were demolished. They always
said that the authorities had acted arbitrarily when they pulled
down their houses without prior warnings.
The city administration has never had a clear plan on the
demolition of squatters' homes. This has apparently made many
people upset and frustrated.
"This should be stopped because basically the residents are
not opposing the policy. All they ask for is early notification
so they can prepare themselves," he said.
The city administration has been intensifying its program to
clear the city's riverbanks of illegal shanties.
Many dissatisfied residents have complained about previous
demolitions to the city council. They said the officials did not
give them a chance to save their belongings.
According to the regulations, mayoralties should notify the
residents with three demolition orders before tearing down their
property.
The first order gives the residents seven days to leave their
houses, the second gives three days and the last is given one day
before the deadline.
However, the regulations have often been ignored. Most of the
demolition victims said they only received one day's notice
before city officials leveled their houses.
Abdoelhamid also said that the commission has urged the city
administration to prepare funds to give appropriate compensation
to the residents or to allocate new sites to relocate them.
"The administration should consider this aspect too," he said.
The city administration usually refuses to give compensation
to squatters on the grounds that they resided on state-owned
property illegally but in some cases the administration does give
a small, token amount. (yns)