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