Home industry village urges council action

Home industry village urges council action

JAKARTA (JP): Businesspeople living in the small industry
village of Pulogadung, East Jakarta, have urged the city council
to help them obtain ownership rights to their houses.

In a meeting with a group of visiting councilors on Tuesday in
their neighborhood, 500 residents of the special home industry
community said they had faithfully paid their housing payment
installments in a bid to acquire the land titles under a scheme
set up by former governor Soeprapto.

In 1983, Soeprapto issued a gubernatorial decree stating that
the residents could obtain titles for their respective houses
under a 15-year-long installment scheme.

"The policy was replaced during the term of governor Wiyogo
Atmodarminto in 1988 and (was never reinstated under) Surjadi
Soedirdja," Oman Abdurahman, who manages three houses for his
home industry businesses, told the councilors of Commission C for
financial affairs.

Under the current policy, the businesspeople are only allowed
to rent the properties in the area, Oman added.

The 44-hectare small industry village contains 436 houses with
565 families running various home industries, such as textile,
tanning and furniture businesses.

The houses, which range from six meters by six meters to six
meters by eight meters, were offered to the traders in 1986 under
a 15-year installment scheme with monthly rents ranging between
Rp 40,000 and Rp 50,000 per unit.

The residents, who had previously worked in Manggarai and
Pluis in South Jakarta, said authorities had forced them to move
to Pulogadung.

Their new houses had been heavily guarded by security forces
in the beginning to make sure the businesspeople did not leave
the area, they told the councilors.

"When we came here in the early 1980s, this area was tagged as
a favorite place for genies to dump their kids," said another
resident, Supardi, referring to how backward the place was.

"But after the area became a strategic business site, we're no
longer allowed to own our houses," Supardi was quoted by Antara
as saying.

The residents called on the councilors to look at the case
closely and ascertain if the current policy should be revoked.

The councilors were also urged to look into the management
practices of the Pulogadung management board for industrial
environment and resettlement (BPLIP), which oversees the area.

BPLIP officials had been collecting money from the businesses
to line their own pockets without concern for the residents, some
of whom were no longer able to pay their monthly housing
installments, community members said.

"The officials should have developed the community, so why are
many of the residents still unable to pay their home
installments?", one resident said.

BPLIP has a annual budget of more than Rp 1 billion to help
develop the village's home industry businesses, said Ahmad Romli,
another resident. "Why are many BPLIP officials acting as brokers
selling city assets?" he asked.

Many of the village's residents brought banners to the
meeting, some reading: "Probe the Pulogadung BPLIP officials to
save the city's assets", "Security guard post sold for Rp 35
million, where's the money?" and "Football field rented, where
did the money go?".

When asked to comment on the residents' accusations, BPLIP
chairman Machmud said that the charges should first be clarified
since he had only been at the post for 15 months.

The senior councilor heading the visit, Commission C chairman
Amarullah Asbah, vowed to do his best to solve the problem. (bsr)