Idle land to be used by locals

Idle land to be used by locals

JAKARTA (JP): Local people will be allowed to utilize at least
1,900 hectares of land in the city cleared by developers but
subsequently neglected.

"As the lands have not been optimally utilized, local people,
mainly the jobless, have been allowed to temporarily cultivate
them to grow edible food crops," city administration spokesman
Kamaludin S. said on Saturday in quoting Governor Sutiyoso.

The latter inspected the optimalization plan on property
utilization during the economic crisis in Pulo Mas, East Jakarta,
on Friday evening.

Kamaludin explained that the temporary utilization of the idle
land was in line with Governor's Decree No. 199/1998 which
regulates that people are obliged to return the land when their
developers will utilize them for the construction of their
projects and without giving any compensation.

Utilization of the land is vital to help the people increase
food production, especially during hardships caused by the
crisis, Kamaludin said. (hhr)