Minister defends housing site decision
JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Forestry Djamaludin Suryohadikusumo yesterday defended his decision to allow a private sector company to develop housing on 6,100 hectares of state-owned land in Jonggol, West Java.
Djamaludin said yesterday that the land is not a water catchment site, nor is it designated as a protected forest area.
He cited Presidential Decree No. 48/1983 on Jonggol district, which falls within the jurisdiction of the Bogor regency. The decree states that Jonggol district is not part of the Jakarta water catchment known as the Bogor-Puncak-Cianjur, or Bopunjur, area.
Djamaludin said the land acquired by the private developer, PT Bukit Jonggol Asri, is classified as limited-production forest, where people live and where felling of trees is permissible.
"We would never allow a developer to take over protected forest land, even if it were occupied by squatters," Djamaludin said.
He was responding to news reports that the land acquired by Bukit Jonggol was part of Jakarta's water catchment.
Djamaludin issued a letter in September, 1995 approving the acquisition. In response, members of the House of Representatives urged the government to reconsider the decision to allow housing to be developed in the area.
Djamaludin confirmed yesterday that the 6,100 hectares of land acquired by Bukit Jonggol is currently owned by the Perum Perhutani state-owned forestry firm, which operates in Java.
The property is presently occupied and cultivated by local people.
"The people have been living on and cultivating that land for 33 years now... There are hardly any forests there and most of it is fields and food crop plantations," he said.
Djamaludin, who was accompanied by Director General of Forest Inventory and Management Sumahadi explained that as the owner of the land, Perhutani will ask the developer to provide land in another area in compensation.
Regulations require that compensation be provided on the basis of an equal 1:1 ratio when the land acquired is considered a settled area under dispute. This means that for every 1 square meter of land acquired, the party taking over the land must provide 1 square meter in another area.
Compensation for land earmarked for public facilities is based on a 1:1 ratio. The only exception is when the facilities are categorized as "strategic projects". In this case, the ratio would be 1:2, meaning that twice as much land would be required to replace the acquired land. If the acquired land is to be used for business or profit-seeking purposes, the ratio applied is at least 1:3.
Djamaludin said that Bukit Jonggol has offered to replace the land in Jonggol with several plots of land in Cianjur regency (4,276 hectares), Tasikmalaya regency (2,300 hectares) and Ciamis regency (1,458 hectares).
The developer has also agreed to give the local people a considerable sum in compensation, based on mutual agreement.
He said the government will consistently keep its commitment to carrying out policies which support land and water conservation, particularly in the Bogor, Puncak and Cianjur areas.
Districts included in the that area are Ciawi, Cibinong, Cimanggis, Cisarua, Citeureup, Gunung Putri, Gunung Sindur, Kedung Halang, Parung, Sawangan and Semplak in Bogor regency; Cugenang and Pacet in Cianjur regency; and Ciputat in Tangerang regency. (pwn)