Karet residents complain over land compensation
Karet residents complain over land compensation
JAKARTA (JP): Forty-five residents of the Karet Tengsin
subdistrict in Central Jakarta filed a complaint yesterday with
the city council over the compensation they have been offered for
their land, which is to be cleared as part of the Krukut river
normalization project.
The residents told the city council's Commission D, in charge
of development affairs, that the Central Jakarta mayoralty had
set the level of compensation without negotiating with the
residents.
S. Siregar, the residents' leader, said that the mayoralty had
offered those residents without land certificates or other
documentation only Rp 249,000 (US$113.18) per square meter.
"The compensation for a square meter of land owned by those
holding the necessary documents is set at Rp 941,000," he said,
adding that semi-permanent and permanent buildings had been
assessed as being worth Rp 85,000 and Rp 170,000, respectively,
per square meter.
"This compensation is too small and if we accept it we will
not be able to improve our welfare," he said.
Siregar said that, with the compensation offered, it would be
impossible for the residents to move to other areas, given the
high prices of land.
He said that most of the 350 families living the area did not
have land certificates or other documents, meaning they would
only receive a small amount of compensation, despite the fact
that they had occupied the land for many years.
Moreover, he said, most of the resident had only small plots
of land. Some residents had as little as 20 square meters, while
others occupied 45 square meters, he said.
"This compensation offer is not consistent with the
government's program to eradicate poverty. Instead, by setting a
low level of compensation, the Central Jakarta mayoralty is
creating more poverty," said Siregar, who has lived in the area
since 1972.
He said the compensation offered was far lower than the going
market price of land in the area which, he said, was about Rp 1.5
million per square meter.
The residents, who have been given two months time to vacate
their homes, had asked the city council to help solve the
problem, he said.
"All we want is proper prices so that we will not be poorer
than we used to be," he said.
The city administration intends to rejuvenate the Krukut river
by increasing its width from the present 24.5 meters to 30
meters.
The residents have questioned the administration's policy,
noting that it is only eastern bank of the river which will be
cleared, while western bank is to remain unaffected.
"We don't know why the administration is appropriating only
the eastern side. I think it would be better if the project
included the other side of the river, to make it fair," Siregar
said.
The council's Commission D, headed by Bandjar Marpaung, said
that it would urge officials of the Central Jakarta mayoralty to
settle the case.
Meanwhile, a member of the commission, Saud Rachman, said the
case should be investigated thoroughly to find out whether there
was a scam.
"There are indications that a certain party has acted in the
name of the mayoralty for the sake of its own benefit," Saud
said.
He said that a developer had been appropriating land in the
area by claiming that the residents had to leave as part of the
project. (yns)