Squatters still refuse to move from Kapuk

Squatters still refuse to move from Kapuk

JAKARTA (JP): Some 700 squatters in Kapuk subdistrict, West
Jakarta, are still reluctant to move from the area despite
repeated warnings from the West Jakarta authorities.

Last week, the West Jakarta Public Order and Security Office
issued another demolition order, requiring that the squatters
immediately pull down their houses to make way for the
construction of a housing complex. The authorities set Aug. 28
(today) as the deadline for them to demolish their houses. After
the deadline passes, the authorities will forcibly demolish the
houses.

Karsidin, the office's head, said the demolition orders were
issued after the squatters refused to budge from the site despite
the fact that many of them have accepted compensation from the
state-owned housing company, Perum Perumnas.

He added that Perum Perumnas, based on a gubernatorial decree,
has the right to use 334 hectares of land in Kapuk and Cengkareng
Timur for the development of housing complexes.

Workers

So far Perum Perumnas has built 1,190 low-cost houses and is
currently still constructing a low-cost apartment complex for
low-income people, mostly factory and construction workers.

Perum Perumnas has offered the squatters a compensation rate
of Rp 20,000 (US$9.09) to Rp 65,000 per square meter of
structure.

Didi Setiadi, head of the Perum Perumnas Cengkareng office
claimed that the company had paid compensation to the squatters.
"Only 96 of them have not accepted the compensation," he said.

The company also has offered subsidies which could enable them
to buy low-cost houses in the area, Didi said.

Mari Suud, one of the squatters, told The Jakarta Post on
Saturday that he and some other families in Kapuk refuse to
accept the compensation rate offered by Perum Perumnas. "We are
demanding a higher rate of compensation," he said, but declined
to specify the precise amount they are demanding. (29)