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esidents of a neighborhood in Bidaracina, East Jakarta, have expressed strong opposition to a tunnel project that would oust them from their land.

The city administration should compensate them with similar houses in other locations, instead of moving them to low-cost apartments, the residents say.

Community Unit (RW) 4 head Galuh Radia, who has lived on Jl. Sensus Raya for more than 30 years, said that on behalf of residents, she had delivered a letter of rejection to Governor Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo, the House of Representatives and the East Jakarta mayor, against the city administration'€™s plan to relocate more than 300 families to several low-cost apartments in the municipality.

'€œThe reason we reject the plan is not only because of the sketchy information, but also due to the fact that, unlike other neighborhoods in Jatinegara district, our neighborhood has never been hit by floods. Why don'€™t they construct the tunnel through neighborhoods that are annually inundated?'€ Galuh told The Jakarta Post recently.

She said the community had not been informed about the tunnel project and the authorities had not held talks with residents to familiarize them with the project and to discuss fair compensation for the affected land and buildings.

'€œIt is irrational and strange that subdistrict and district heads put off familiarizing us until the project begins,'€ she said, adding that people should have been informed about the project at least six months before it began.

The project officially began following a groundbreaking ceremony on Dec. 23, 2013, which was attended by Jokowi and Public Works Minister Joko Kirmanto. The 2.15-kilometer tunnel will connect the Ciliwung River with the East Flood Canal (KBT) and have a capacity of 60 cubic meters per second. It is aimed at rerouting water from the river to the KBT and preventing the river from overflowing during the rainy season.

Neighborhood security head Anis, who has lived in the neighborhood since 1976, said land surveyors had started mapping all land and houses that would be affected by the project even though the authorities had yet to inform residents about land acquisition. According to him, the only thing that has been made clear is which land will be affected by the project, and that residents were clueless about their fate and assets.

Longtime neighborhood resident M. Rifai, 48, whose house is earmarked for demolition, said residents expected the government to pay them fair compensation.

'€œWe understand that the government is executing these projects for the good of the city. But our needs are simple. If you tear down a house, the owner will definitely want a new one somewhere in the city,'€ he said.

When asked about the possibility of relocating to a low-cost apartment, resident Suratmin said moving to an apartment would bring more losses than gain.

'€œHow would we earn a daily income if we live in low-cost apartments far from where we work?'€ he said. (dyl)