City seeks govt help to take over land

City seeks govt help to take over land

TANGERANG: The Tangerang administration is trying to get
central government approval to take over land from 38 owners who
are refusing to accept a compensation offer as part of the
Ciputat overpass project.

"We have written to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono for
approval," the administration's legal officer Deden Syukron told
The Jakarta Post on Saturday.

"This is the only way. As of today the 38 land and building
owners, who occupy 10 percent of 10,000 square meters required
for the overpass, are still rejecting the compensation offer and
we cannot go ahead with the construction,"

A new regulation states that the government has the right to
take over land affected in public projects if a dispute
deadlocks.

Deden said that the compensation per square meter of land and
buildings was between Rp 1.4 million and 2 million. The residents
would receive their money from the Tangerang District Court, he
said. The administration had allocated a total of Rp 4.7 billion
for the owners.

"But none of the (owners) has taken the money," Deden said.

Meanwhile, Syarifuddin, the chairman of the Ciputat Traders,
Land and Building Association, said the owners had pledged to
fight the takeover attempt through the courts. -- JP

"The resistance is not because of the low compensation
(offered) but because we believe the overpass will not solve the
congestion problems here," he said. -- JP