Govt asked to simplify procedure for land permits

JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian Consumers Foundation (YLKI) has demanded that the city administration simplify the arduous procedures for obtaining land appropriation permits.

YLKI secretary Agus Pambagio told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday that simplification is badly needed to facilitate the smooth implementation of property development projects.

"We expect the city administration to speed up the process of issuing land licenses," Agus said, suggesting that the city administration provide integrated services to issue land licenses.

At present, people have to go through more than 30 counters in various municipality offices to secure a land license.

The city administration, according to Agus, actually needs only three counters to process land permits: one for filing the requirements of a land license proposal, another for paying the fees and a third for issuing the licenses.

He also urged the municipality to set clear-cut requirements for the public and to set clear time schedules for the paperwork processing.

Many businesses have been criticizing the procedures as bureaucratic and time-consuming.

They complain that they routinely have to spend large amounts of money, mostly in unofficial fees.

They also accuse the officials in charge of issuing the licenses of being corrupt and greedy.

Agus argued that simpler procedures could ease supervision and minimize bribe-taking.

The governor should oversee the process of issuing land licenses, he suggested.

"But the municipality needs to enforce the regulation properly to improve services to the people."

It is better to charge higher administrative fees for good and fast service than cheap fees for slow procedures prone to malfeasance, he said.

Agus added that in the end it is the consumers, and not businesses, who have to bear the brunt of the high costs of land appropriation. (29)