Scavengers seek Rp130m in land compensation

JAKARTA (JP): The Association of Indonesian Scavengers is demanding more than Rp 130 million (US$59,090) from the local administration in compensation for land and property taken from 600 scavenger families in Cakung-Cilincing, North Jakarta,

The land has been earmarked for the construction of a warehouse belonging to the National Logistics Agency (Bulog).

The vice chairman of the scavengers organization Haryono said the material loss suffered as of yesterday by the families who were evicted from the area has been calculated.

"We have calculated the value of land and property occupied by those 600 families to range between Rp 250,000 and Rp 4 million each," Haryono said.

In a related development, 20 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have agreed to establish a forum to take on land disputes. The forum, known as the Alliance for Land Disputes in Greater Jakarta (Aliansi Penanganan Kasus Tanah se Jabotabek) was established on Monday, an official from the Legal Aid Institute (LBH) said.

Paskah Irianto, division chief of LBH's Jakarta Network, said that the forum aimed at helping people who are embroiled in land disputes to understand and demand their rights on the basis of the law.

"It appears that in the current city development efforts the slum residents, who in fact have rights, tend to be neglected. Those people have occupied state-owned land for more than a decade," said Paskah, referring the land dispute in the Cakung- Cilincing area.

Regarding the Cakung-Cilincing case, Paskah said the forum was planning to take "humanitarian action" in the area on Tuesday, next week.

The forum consists of 20 NGOs including the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute, the Indonesia Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI), the Indonesian Environmental Forum (Walhi), Pijar Foundation, the Association of Indonesian Scavengers (IPI), LBH Nusantara and LBH Bandung. (01)