Councillor expresses dismay over 'girik' document issue

Councillor expresses dismay over 'girik' document issue

JAKARTA (JP): A councillor expressed concern yesterday over the city administration's declaration that girik land documents were not land ownership certificates. Girik documents are issued by the taxation office and set out tax liability in relation to land. Many Jakarta residents rely on these documents as proof of ownership.

Ratih R. Purnami, a member of City Council's Commission D, which is responsible for development affairs, urged the city administration to reconsider the move or, at least, to allow for certain exceptions.

"The girik land document holders are mostly people with little education, who do not understand how to complete or process proper land certificates. They usually inherit their land from generation to generation," Ratih said.

The chief of the Jakarta office of the National Land Agency, H. Sunar, announced on Saturday that girik documents were not evidence of land ownership, since they were not issued by the land agency.

Girik documents, issued by the tax office, showed only who was responsible for paying tax in relation to a particular plot of land, he said.

Djenny Suharso, another councillor of Commission A, agreed with Ratih that girik land documents were important and could evidence land ownership.

"Girik land documents are still important because they can be used to show possession of land. They can also be used in applying for building permits," Djenny said. "Girik land documents can be used for tracing the history of the ownership of a plot of land," he added.

Sunar, however, said that the administration's announcement had been made in order to protect the public's interests and rights over land.

"Most of the land problems in Jakarta result from imbalances between the rights and obligations of land owners over their land," Sunar said. He did not elaborate.

The office would always endeavor to solve every land problem in accordance with the existing laws and regulations, he said.

Sunar said that in any land dispute the National Land Agency would always check the status of the land, the relationship between the owner and the land under the law, the owner of any building on the land and so on. (31)