Wiranto agrees to meet with Koja Utara residents
Wiranto agrees to meet with Koja Utara residents
JAKARTA (JP): Jakarta Military Commander Maj. Gen. Wiranto
said yesterday that he wants to meet with residents involved in a
land dispute in Koja Utara, North Jakarta, to hear their side of
the story.
"I invite the residents to meet me as soon as possible. The
sooner the better," he said, responding to their request for a
meeting with higher authorities.
While Governor Surjadi Soedirdja has also asked for
clarification, he would not comment on the possibility of his
meeting with the Koja Utara residents.
He also refused to comment on the land dispute, saying the
problem is being handled by the Jakarta branch of the Agency for
the Coordination of Support for the Development of National
Stability (Bakorstranasda).
"Bakorstranasda is handling the problem and the city
administration is waiting for results," Surjadi said yesterday.
Wiranto said that the project on the 90-hectare plot of land
would be conducted according to schedule and that the city
military would safeguard the cargo terminal project.
Wiranto said recently that residents who obstructed the
development of the project were considered criminals.
According to local residents, certain people, despite having
received compensation, are still hanging around the site
persuading the remaining residents to sell their houses.
"They are working for the compensation team established by the
North Jakarta mayoralty and PT Pelindo II," said Mochdar Barga,
one of the residents.
There have been many cases in which, due to fraud, losses were
suffered by residents whose houses were sold, he added.
The land dispute began when PT Pelindo II and PT Humpuss
announced last year that they would appropriate the land for a
new cargo terminal project.
The company set the compensation rate between Rp 100,000 per
square meter to Rp 150,000 per square meter, while the residents
are asking for Rp 2,275,000 per square meter. The North Jakarta
Mayor later, through a decree, set the compensation rate at Rp
100,000 per square meter to Rp 160,000 per square meter. (29/yns)