Residents seek higher compensation of land

Residents seek higher compensation of land

Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Around 350 residents of Pulo Gebang subdistrict in East Jakarta
are demanding higher compensation for land and property affected
by the East Flood Canal project.

Spokesman Anhar Safrudin said on Tuesday that residents there
wanted the city administration to pay Rp 1.5 million per square
meter for their land.

"We hope that the administration is ready to negotiate with
the residents to decide on the price of our land and property,"
Anhar said during a hearing with City Council Commission A for
legal and administrative affairs on Tuesday.

The Jakarta administration, according to Anhar, had offered to
pay between Rp 400,000 (US$44) and Rp 800,000 per square meter,
while the land's taxable value (NJOP) in the area ranges between
Rp 464,000 to Rp 820,000 per square meter.

In Presidential Decree No. 36/2005 issued last week, land
compensation for development projects of public interest should
be determined based on either the NJOP or the market price. It
also allows land compensation disputes to be resolved in court.

Anhar said the compensation offered by the city administration
could not cover cost of new houses in Pulo Gebang subdistrict and
its surrounding areas.

According to Anhar, representatives of the administration had
not negotiated with the residents. They only informed the
residents that the amount they offered for their land and
property was equal to the NJOP.

If completed, the East Flood Canal will stretch over 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 the existing West Flood Canal to create a
semicircular canal that will channel runoff from the 13 rivers
that flow through the capital, which has seen regular floods in
the past few years.

Former president Megawati Soekarnoputri initiated the East
Flood Canal construction in July 2003, but it has not experienced
significant progress due to the problem of land acquisition.

The Rp 4.99 trillion (US$609.4 million) project is expected to
protect some 25 percent of Jakarta's territory from annual
flooding. The central government is responsible for its
construction, while the city administration is responsible for
the land acquisition.

Rosadi, another resident of Pulo Gebang, said that all
residents supported the development of the flood canal because
the project was expected to ease flooding in the eastern part of
the city.

"We are not asking for more. We only hope that the
administration will give us compensation equal to the market
price so that we can buy new houses in other parts of Pulo Gebang
subdistrict or its surrounding areas," according to Rosadi.

"If we had a choice, we would choose not to sell our property,
but if the administration wants to acquire our land, we demand a
proper price," he added.

Commission A chairman Achmad Suaidy said that his commission
would visit the subdistrict to obtain firsthand information about
the progress in land acquisition there.

He also said that the commission would encourage the Jakarta
administration to negotiate with residents to decide the amount
of compensation.

Governor Sutiyoso said previously that his administration
would acquire residents' properties at the market price.