Grave matter of rental fees to be laid to rest
Grave matter of rental fees to be laid to rest
Damar Harsanto
The Jakarta Post/Jakarta
It may be of small comfort to those who have just lost a loved
one, but the Jakarta administration's plan to abolish rental fees
for grave spaces and subsidize burials outside the city will at
least decrease their financial burden.
"The decision (to scrap rental fees and provide a burial
subsidy) is almost final. The team of councillors that has been
assigned to formulate the final draft bylaw on city fees has come
to a conclusion," team member Agus Darmawan of the National
Mandate Party said at the City Council.
As there is limited space for public cemeteries in the city,
Agus added that the administration would also provide subsidies
for those who wanted to bury their deceased loved ones out of
town.
"The subsidy has also been included in the 2005 city budget,"
he said.
However, a detailed rundown of the allocated funds was not
made available on Tuesday.
Seven council factions are expected to deliver on Thursday
their final statements on the issue.
Agus, however, said that the administration would still charge
rent for prominent spaces in city cemeteries.
Rates vary from cemetery to cemetery and usually depend on the
distance of the plot's location from the street.
Prevailing City Bylaw No. 3/1999 rules that Jakarta residents
are only subject to a fee of between Rp 4,000 and Rp 100,000 for
a three-year period based on the location of the grave.
The relatives of the deceased are required to renew the lease
after three years, "but they are not charged a renewal fee," Agus
added.
Late renewal could mean that another body is buried in the
plot.
Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso said he had come to the decision to
scrap the fees due to public complaints, as well as allegations
that city officials had embezzled funds from the rent.
"The income is not that significant but is often criticized,"
Sutiyoso said.
Jakarta has a total of 95 public cemeteries.
The Jakarta Cemetery Management Office says that between 8,000
and 10,000 Jakarta residents die every day.
Last year, the administration allocated Rp 27.3 billion to
cover the burial fees of city residents.
"Every Jakartan is entitled to receive Rp 150,000 to finance
their burial," Agus said.
However, it seems that residents are not well-informed of
their rights.
"I don't know about the burial allocation from the
administration," said Selby, 60, a resident of Rawabunga, East
Jakarta.
He grumbled that he had to pay Rp 2.5 million two years ago to
arrange for the burial of his deceased mother in Petamburan
public cemetery in Central Jakarta.
City residents often complain of vacant plots being so
difficult to secure that bribing cemetery staff is the only
option if they want to bury their dead relatives.