Families take compensation
Families take compensation
TANGERANG: The remaining four families in the way of the
highway linking Tangerang city with the Soekarno-Hatta
International Airport have decided to take the compensation
money, after being threatened with a forcible eviction.
The four were the last of 472 families displaced by the Jl.
Marsekal Surya Darma II highway. They took the money after a year
of disputing the amount of compensation, which they said was too
low.
Their decision came after a meeting with Tangerang Mayor
Wahidin Halim and officials from airport operator PT Angkasa Pura
on Tuesday. In the meeting, the administration threatened to
forcibly evict the four families within a week.
The other 468 families took the compensation early last year
for Rp 150,000 (US$18) per square-meter of land and Rp 125,000
per square-meter of building.
The four families holding out wanted the city to pay Rp 1
million per square-meter of land and Rp 600,000 per square-meter
of building.
The administration then increased their offer of compensation
to Rp 300,000 per square-meter of land and Rp 250,000 per square-
meter of building. But the families rejected the decision.
Apriali, a resident who owned 296-square-meters of land, said
he insisted on higher compensation because his home was built on
a strategic location for business.
"I don't think the (final) compensation will be enough to buy
a land or a house elsewhere. But I have no power to oppose the
administration," he said on Wednesday.
Municipality spokesman Chaerudin, said: "We could no longer
tolerate their stance, which has hampered the construction of
public facilities. Therefore we decided to force them out of
their homes. They can claim the compensation money at the
Tangerang District Court."
Most part of the new road has been opened for public since
July 2003, except in the area around the four families' houses.
PT Angkasa Pura financed the construction cost for more than Rp
20 billion while the administration paid for clearing the land.
-- JP