Koja resident sues governor over land compensation rate
JAKARTA (JP): A resident of North Koja district in North Jakarta is suing the governor of Jakarta, the North Jakarta mayor and the state-owned PT Pelindo seaport company for fixing the compensation for his land prior to consulting him.
In his suit, Saman charged that the governor had failed to form a land procurement committee as required by a Presidential decree on land procurement when negotiations to decide the compensation started. Saman maintains that the committee's decision on the amount of compensation was arbitrary.
Previously Saman and 50 other residents filed a suit which they later withdrew.
"I decided to file a suit on my own this time because when we filed a suit with 50 other people, one by one we had to withdraw due to intimidation," Saman said, who was secretary of the group of 50 residents.
The withdrawal, he said, followed a summons from Governor Surjadi Soedirdja through the assistant of the deputy governor for development affairs. The governor asked the residents to discuss the matter.
"But nothing came of the discussion so I decided to once again file a suit," Saman said.
The North Koja district, located adjacent to the Tanjung Priok container terminal, has been earmarked as a new cargo terminal extension site. However, over 9,037 families comprising 37,400 people who live in a 90-hectare area will have to be moved before construction begins.
The new $498-million terminal, the property of the state-owned PT Pelindo seaport company and Humpuss Terminal Peti Kemas III, a company owned by President Soeharto's youngest son Hutomo Mandala Putera, will begin operating in October 1998.
In general, residents seem willing to leave their land but they object to the compensation offered by PT Pelindo.
North Jakarta Mayor H. Suprawito, who is also the head of the North Koja land appropriation committee, has offered Rp 160,000 (US$74) per square meter to the land owners on behalf of the company.
The offer was rejected by the residents, who demanded Rp 2.27 million per square meter.
The dispute has continued since late last year with most of the people still refusing the offer.
However, Jurthoni, chief of North Koja district, said that there is no problem concerning the compensation and that up until now 2,139 building owners out of 6,500 in Koja subdistrict have received the compensation.
"The remaining owners occupy the space to be used in the fourth phase of construction in 1996. We have not asked them to collect the compensation," Jurthoni told The Jakarta Post recently.
"It is not true. The problem (of compensation) has not been solved yet and the residents are still sticking to their original demand," Saman said, adding that most of people who have collected the compensation are employees of the municipality or retired employees of PT Pelindo.
The North Jakarta District Court will begin examining Saman's suit on Sept. 12. (yns)