Consistent rulings might curb land disputes: LBH

JAKARTA (JP): The Jakarta Legal Aid Institute urged the government on Saturday to implement agrarian laws consistently to prevent further public unrest.

Director of the institute Luhut MP. Pangaribuan said in a statement made available to The Jakarta Post that consistency is critical to secure transparency and avoid future land disputes.

"Consistency will help restore the function of land from an economic one to its original social purpose as guaranteed in Article 33 of the 1945 Constitution," he said.

He expressed concern with the rising number of land eviction cases brought on by development growth.

The people's interests are no longer accommodated in land conflicts between them and the government or wealthy businessmen, Luhut said.

Even though the law is supposed to protect the public, he added that it rarely does in practice.

Now, he said, land is treated as capital and devoid of social value.

When settling land disputes, Luhut said the government and developers focus more on the existence or absence of formal proof. According to the National Land Agency, only 20 percent of all land plots in Indonesia have certificates. in Jakarta alone, only 31.9 percent of all land in the city is certified.

Proper documents

If a resident is not in possession of the proper documents, the government generally claims the land, as has happened in Cengkareng Timur (West Jakarta), Koja (North Jakarta), Pademangan Timur (North Jakarta) and other locations.

Rulings that favor residents are either not enforced or come after the residents have been evicted, Luhut said.

Luhut cited the example of the 25 Pinangsia residents that filed a suit against the West Jakarta mayor for ordering the demolition of their houses. While the Jakarta Administrative Court ruled in their favor on Aug. 21, the victory was bittersweet as the city had already demolished their houses on Oct. 17 of the previous year. (yns)