Kapuk residents seeking proper compensation

JAKARTA (JP): Residents of Kapuk in West Jakarta have insisted to continue demanding appropriate compensation for their houses which will be demolished by the state-owned housing company Perum Perumnas.

More than 100 residents of the area, representing 980 families, marched to the City Council building on Tuesday to bring their case to the Council's Commission A, which oversees administration, security and public order.

The delegates told the councilors that they were adamant that the housing company pay them compensation between Rp 200,000 (US$88.6) and Rp 300,000 per square meter.

They said they flatly reject the amount of compensation set at between Rp 20,000 and Rp 30,000 per square meter offered by the company.

"The rate of compensation offered is extremely low. It would be impossible for us to buy decent houses elsewhere," Nainggolan, one of the delegates, said.

"In addition, we have to spend extra money to move our sons and daughters to other schools," he added.

However, the delegation told the councilors that they are willing to leave their houses, acknowledging that the land they occupy belongs to the company.

"But we hope that the company will take into consideration the fact that we have been living there since the 1980s. It was only two years ago that we became aware of the rightful owners of the property," Nainggolan said.

The dispute surfaced because the company is planning to build a housing complex on the land.

According to the delegation, the company has made it clear that it will not budge from its present stand and that it will not heed the residents' plea. "Therefore we ask the councilors to willingly act as mediators in our dispute with the company," Nainggolan pleaded.

The commission, chaired by M. Aman, promised that it would do its best to help settle the dispute. (32)