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)