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.