People living on E. Canal site face eviction

People living on E. Canal site face eviction

Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The fate of people whose land and homes are affected by the long-
delayed East Canal Project now appears sealed as Jakarta's
governor, Sutiyoso, has signed regulations allowing their
forcible eviction if they refuse the compensation offered by the
city administration.

"Governor Sutiyoso has signed two decrees based on
Presidential Regulation No. 36/2005. The decrees specifically
state the amount of time required to assess compensation," City
Secretary Ritola Tasmaya told The Jakarta Post on Monday.

Presidential Regulation No. 36/2005 on compulsory land
acquisition for public projects enables the state to revoke land
titles if this is deemed necessary in the public interest.

Despite opposition from some groups, Sutiyoso signed
Gubernatorial Decree No. 1222/2005 on the establishment of a land
acquisition committee for public projects and Gubernatorial
Decree No. 83/2005 setting out guidelines for the assessment of
compensation for land acquired in the public interest.

Based on the decrees, the committee is empowered to determine
the form and amount of compensation for land acquired for public
projects should negotiations with landowners fail to lead to an
agreement within 90 days.

The compensation provided to landowners in exchange for the
land value, development value and agricultural value of their
property can take the form of cash and/or other land and/or other
buildings/residences.

Article 4(3) of Gubernatorial Decree No. 83/2005 provides that
the committee, presided over by the governor at the provincial
level or the relevant mayor at the municipal level, is required
to report any objections from landowners, and the reasons for
these objections, to the Jakarta governor, who is vested with the
power to either accept the committee's recommendations or revise
them.

Should a landowner reject the governor's determination, the
matter then goes to the district court for a final ruling on the
adequacy of compensation. In the meantime, however, the
administration is free to compulsorily acquire title and evict
the landowner, by force if necessary.

Sutiyoso's administration has said that it will apply the
Presidential Regulation to the acquisition of land for the East
Flood Canal project, which it is hoped will help control the
annual flooding in the capital.

The project has become mired in land acquisition problems as
most residents whose land and properties are affected by the
project in areas such as Marunda, Duren Sawit, Pulogebang and
Cipinang have demanded more compensation.

Anhar Safrudin, a representative of residents in Pulogebang
subdistrict, East Jakarta, said in May that he wanted the
administration to pay Rp 1.5 million per square meter for their
land -- much more than the amounts on offer, which range from Rp
400,000 to Rp 800,000 per square meter.

The Presidential Regulation states that the compensation
offered must take into account the latest taxable value (NJOP) of
the land. Taxable values in Pulogebang range between Rp 464,000
and Rp 820,000 per square meter.

When, or perhaps if, completed, the East Flood Canal will
stretch for more than 23 kilometers from Cipinang district in
East Jakarta to Marunda in North Jakarta, and will be between 100
and 300 meters wide. It will also link up with the existing West
Flood Canal to create a semicircular canal that will channel
runoff water from the 13 rivers flowing through the capital,
which has seen regular flooding for many years.

The central government is shouldering the burden of
constructing the canal, while the city administration is
responsible for land acquisition.