Rp 1.5t needed for squatters' apartments

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The government would need around Rp 1.5 trillion (about US$145 million) for the construction of low cost apartments to relocate some 30,000 families whose houses alongside riverbanks have blocked river flows and contributed to the recent floods.

Minister for Resettlement and Regional Infrastructure Soenarno said on Tuesday that the government was still undecided about how to raise the necessary funds.

It was still considering options for the location of the new apartments, he said.

"Among them (options) is whether we will build the apartments near the rivers or somewhere else entirely," he told reporters following a coordinating meeting for economics ministers.

He explained that the distance between a housing complex and a river bank should be kept at between 60 to 70 meters. "Now the average distance is just 20 meters," he said.

To persuade illegal squatters from leaving their hometowns, the government would also need an extensive public information campaign, he added.

The city administration last month had to forcibly evict thousands of illegal squatters living alongside rivers and canals.

Their shacks, which are built close to the water, have been blamed for causing river levels to rise rapidly during the rainy season.

But non-government organizations decried the forcible evictions as inhumane, urging the government to build replacements for their demolished houses.

According to one NGO, the Jaringan Anti Penggusuran, the government conducted 45 forced evictions last year, leaving some 35,000 people homeless.