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)