Koja residents ask for delay of house demolition
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)