Koja residents ask for delay of house demolition
JAKARTA (JP): Hundreds of North Koja subdistrict residents asked PT Pelindo, a state-owned seaport company which is appropriating 144.8 hectares of their land for a cargo terminal expansion project, to give them more time to demolish their houses.
"We want to pull down the premises ourselves because we want to re-use some of the materials for the development of new houses in other places," said some residents who asked not to be identified yesterday.
They said the company plans to use heavy equipment to demolish their premises. Bulldozers and excavators, they feel, will ultimately damage all of their building materials.
According to them, a slow demolition process could save many building materials, such as terra-cotta roof-tiles, concrete bricks and lumber.
They also complained about the company's employees and their lack of compassion and patience. Some of the employees have forcefully demolished houses without consulting the owners.
They explained that after they had agreed to have their land appropriated, the company and the North Jakarta Mayoralty were to issue a demolition warrant, giving them 40 days to demolish their own houses themselves.
One of them said that the warrants often came too late or were issued just a few days before expiration of the given demolition period. "I hope they will listen to our explanations first. If there are any delayed demolitions, we will not pull down any houses without the warrant," he said.
The North Koja district, adjacent to the Tanjung Priok container terminal, has been earmarked as a new cargo terminal extension site. Over 6,880 families, or 32,785 people,in the 144- hectare area will have to be moved before construction begins.
The new $498-million terminal, the property of PT Pelindo and Humpuss Terminal Peti Kemas III, a company owned by President Soeharto's youngest son Hutomo Mandala Putera, will begin operating in October 1998.
Compensation
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 three options of land compensation, Rp 160,000 (US$74) per square meter for the residents whose land located alongside the main road, Rp 130,000 for land located on subdistrict road and Rp 100,000 for land located on alleys.
The district chief of Koja, Jurthoni, said last week that there were 2,319 families who have agreed to receive the compensation.
However, the offer was rejected by around 40 percent of the residents, who demanded Rp 2.27 million per square meter.
One of the residents, Hasan Saman, is filing a lawsuit against the governor, the North Jakarta mayor and PT Pelindo with the North Jakarta District Court.
An official of the subdistrict administration said that the demolition process in the area, which has 13 community units, will be divided into four phases, with the first phase already having been finished last August by appropriating four community units (RW).
The second phase, which started this month, will wind up in February next year. The third will start in March and last through August. The third is due to commence this month and is expected to be completed in December.(03)