City projects hit snag over land acquisition

City projects hit snag over land acquisition

Damar Harsanto, Jakarta

East Jakarta Mayor Koesnan Abdul Halim complained that many city
projects had been halted or have not gotten off the ground
because of disputes with residents over the land.

"There are no clear, strong regulations that support our
efforts to acquiring land that people have been living on for
years. Therefore, many of our projects have come to a halt," he
said on Tuesday at City Hall.

Koesnan cited the East Flood Canal, the Pulo Gebang bus
terminal, the railway from Cikarang in Bekasi to Manggarai in
South Jakarta and the conversion of the Boker red light district
into a sports complex, as some of the projects stalled due to
land acquisition problems.

The mayor said the people often demanded higher more
compensation for their land than its actual value, or the Value
of Taxable Property (NJOP).

"There is a regulation that stipulates that the compensation
must not exceed the NJOP," he said.

Gubernatorial Decree No. 43/2004 on the guidelines to
determine compensation stipulates that the compensation must be
consistent with the latest NJOP.

A previous decree issued by then Governor Ali Sadikin in 1972
stated that the compensation would equal the NJOP if the resident
possessed a land ownership certificate. The compensation would be
lower than the NJOP if the resident did not have it.

Those affected by the land where the East Flood Canal project
is, have demanded the administration to compensate them up to Rp
2 million (US$215) per square meter -- four times higher than the
NJOP, currently at Rp 500,000 per square meter.

To date, the administration has only acquired 50.8 hectares of
the 316 hectares needed for the Rp 4.124-trillion canal, or only
16 percent.

The 23.5-kilometer canal -- which will stretch from Cipinang
in East Jakarta to Marunda in North Jakarta -- will greatly
reduce flooding.

Meanwhile, residents in Pulo Gebang, whose land is affected by
the construction of the bus terminal, are demanding compensation
that is two times the NJOP of between Rp 600,000 and Rp 800,000
per square meter.

So far, the administration has acquired around 90 percent of
the 10.9 hectare plot of land for the terminal.

"We have asked the administration to allocate at least Rp 21
billion to compensate the remaining 10 percent of land
(approximately 11,000 square meters)," Koesnan said.

According to Gubernatorial Decree No. 43/2004, if negotiations
between the administration and the land owners over the
compensation reaches a deadlock, the first party could proceed by
proposing a recommendation to the President to revoke the land
ownership rights from the owner.

"However, it will take years... And, we must also take into
account the social costs to bear if we forcibly evict them,"
Koesnan said.

The Pulo Gebang bus terminal -- which is expected to be the
most modern intercity bus terminals in Indonesia -- was supposed
to have been operational in 2001, to replace the overcrowded
terminal that is there. The Rp 200 billion terminal will be able
to accommodate 1,400 buses per day.