Jakarta has coherent housing policy: Official
Jakarta has coherent housing policy: Official
JAKARTA (JP): The municipality has denied allegations that it has no coherent policy in building low cost apartments.
Soenarjudardji, the Assistant of City Secretary on People's Welfare, said the flurry of construction of low cost apartments was not being carried out blindly or in response to certain situations.
The fact that a number of low cost apartments are being built in areas recently devastated by fire has prompted speculative talk of the city administration lacking a coherent housing program.
Soenarjudardji said the city had constructed low cost apartments not only at the former fire sites but also in other vacant areas allocated for housing estates.
His remarks were intended to counter the public's allegations that city administration officials deliberately arranged fires in some slum areas to pave way for the construction of low cost apartments.
Last year there were at least two slum areas swept by fires, the first in June in Tebet, South Jakarta and the second in September on Jl. Penjernihan in Bendungan Hilir subdistrict, Central Jakarta.
Shortly after each of the fires were extinguished, city officials announced that the inhabitants could not rebuild their houses because the city planned to build low cost apartments on the sites for them.
The people whose homes had burnt down, mostly squatters from out of town, initially objected to the city's plan. Some of the reasons they rejected it was because they had limited knowledge of land ownership matters, were unfamiliar with vertical housing lifestyles and were apprehensive about the price of the apartments as they thought the cost would be beyond their means.
According to an earlier report, the average price of each unit has been set at around Rp 22 million (US$9,995). The city will subsidize more than half of the amount and allow them to pay off the rest by installment over a 20 year period.
But the scheme has failed to convince them to accept the city's offer.
The initial refusal of squatters to accept vertical housing as their homes often turned into riots when they tried to thwart security officers who were in charge of demolishing what was left of their houses to make way for the construction of apartments.
Physical clashes between the Armed Forces and the fire site inhabitants occurred in June at Tebet and in September at Pejompongan.
Since Governor Surjadi Soedirdja took office in 1992, he launched a program to phase out slum areas and move the dwellers to vertical housing complexes.
The city housing office has stated that each year Jakarta needs at least 7,500 units of low-cost apartments to reduce the number of slum areas.
Soenarjudardji said the city is now constructing ten low cost apartments with one in Pulogadung, Kali Mati, Cipinang Muara and Bulak Wadon, East Jakarta, Bendungan Hilir, Karet Tengsin and Tanah Tinggi, in Central Jakarta, Semper Barat, Penjaringan and Luar Batang in North Jakarta.
He also said there is a possibility that the city will build two more low-cost apartment blocks in Kali Sunter area, North Jakarta and in Meruya Ilir subdistrict, West Jakarta.
The governor has repeatedly stated that the vertical housing concept is one of the best answers to land scarcity.(mas)