N. Jakarta plot dispute nets Navy

N. Jakarta plot dispute nets Navy

JAKARTA (JP): Disputing parties of a tract of land in North
Jakarta affirmed their positions before a court yesterday.

Representatives from the government told the Jakarta State
Administrative Court that the 20.5-hectares of disputed land are
part of 180 hectares of land owned by the Navy, which it
appropriated from illegal squatters in 1992.

The land appropriation permit for the 20.5 hectares was issued
by the government that year, granting the Navy the right to use
the land, the representatives said.

Soemardjo, a resident, lodged a lawsuit in January at the
court claiming to own the 20.5 hectares of land. The lawsuit was
addressed to the Jakarta governor and head of the North Jakarta
Board of Land Affairs.

The land in dispute comprises 20.5 hectares located on Jl.
Perintis Kemerdekaan in Kelapa Gading, a subdistrict of North
Jakarta.

A government team had previously been deployed to investigate
and measure the land before the right was granted by the
government and the Board of Land Affairs, the government
representatives said.

They added that the Navy first appropriated the 20.5 hectares
from 130 occupants on March 7, 1960.

The governor is being sued for having issued the Navy an
appropriation permit for the land.

The North Jakarta Board of Land Affairs is being sued for
granting the Navy a permit to use the land despite Soemardjo's
ownership of the land.

In his suit, Soemardjo said that the Navy had forced him to
leave the land in June, 1993, by saying that the land was the
Navy's property.

Soemardjo claimed to have purchased the land from four
different proprietors.

Representatives from the Navy, one of the four parties
involved, said that the Navy had neglected paying property taxes
on the disputed land due to special circumstances.

They cited a government regulation which stipulates that plots
of land and buildings belonging to the Armed Forces are not taxed
until further government regulation is issued.

Appearing as an intervener party, the Navy also refuted an
accusation that the buildings under construction on the disputed
area are being illegally built.

The court hearing is adjourned until next Wednesday. (14)