Urban Poor Demand Agrarian Bill Accommodate Urban Land Issues

A number of organisations grouped under the Indonesian Poor People’s Network (JRMI) are requesting that the Agrarian Reform Bill accommodate various agrarian cases occurring in urban areas.

Guntoro Gugun Muhammad, the Advocacy Coordinator for the Urban Poor People’s Consortium and representative of the coalition, assessed that current agrarian regulations only include cases in rural areas.

“We have encountered cases in many regions where local governments consider agrarian reform to be strictly for villages,” said Guntress during a meeting regarding the Agrarian Reform Bill at the parliamentary complex, Jakarta, on Thursday (10/9).

“Therefore, we are still striving, and we hope this Bill can also encourage the accommodation of urban needs,” he added.

In fact, Guntoro explained that agrarian cases in urban areas have been equally complex. He cited various issues ranging from discrimination regarding land rights and spatial planning to evictions.

“In the city, we face enforcement and evictions under the pretext of not having rights. Therefore, we hear that the plan for this Agrarian Reform Bill is very supportive,” he said.

On the other hand, quoting data from the Indonesian Central Statistics Agency (BPS), Guntoro noted that the current population living in urban areas is significantly larger. Consequently, the perception that agrarian reform is only for rural areas must change.

Guntoro also highlighted suburban populations living on the fringes of cities, such as near railway tracks, rivers, and coastal areas. He noted that these people reside there not due to state guarantees, but through their own community groups.

“This is often overlooked: they do not have land or legal certainty. As a result, the approach taken is often simply to enforce order/evict them,” he said.

“I believe that the perspective of agrarian reform must also accommodate urban areas, as it is vital to address ongoing urbanisation,” Guntoro added.

The Agrarian Reform Bill was passed in a plenary session of the House of Representatives (DPR) earlier this week as an initiative from the legislative body to be enacted into law. One of the key points to be discussed is the formation of the National Agrarian Reform Agency (BRAN).