Rp 1.5t needed for squatters' apartments

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.