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ncumbent Jakarta Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama is not backing down on his plan to evict Bukit Duri residents in South Jakarta, even though rivals have sharply criticized his policies, particularly evictions.

South Jakarta Mayor Tri Kurniadi, who has been tasked by the governor to handle the eviction, said on Tuesday that the eviction would go ahead.

“We will demolish the buildings on the riverbank tomorrow morning,” he said.

Tri said he would deploy 400 personnel of the Public Order Agency (Satpol PP), the Jakarta Police and the military to watch over the eviction. Most residents have been relocated to low-cost apartments in East Jakarta’s Rawa Bebek, 16 kilometers from Bukit Duri.

According to South Jakarta municipality data, 460 land plots on the Ciliwung River bank will be cleared to make way for the rehabilitation of the river as part of flood mitigation efforts.

Families living on 97 land plots were evicted in January and relocated to the Cipinang Besar Selatan low-cost apartment building. “Families on 313 land plots in the second batch have moved to Rawa Bebek,” he said, adding that families on 50 land plots were insisting on living in Bukit Duri. They include those who filed lawsuits against their eviction.

In 2013, then governor Joko “Jokowi” Widodo agreed to help residents build a kampung susun (elevated village) not far from the area. He also promised to compensate residents affected by the plan.

However, the agreement was aborted when Jokowi became president and was replaced by his deputy, Ahok.

Ahok, known for his uncompromising nature, has refused to pay residents compensation unless they possess deeds and has insisted on evicting people living on the riverbank, which is often affected by flooding.

The eviction of residents in Kampung Pulo, which is on the riverbank opposite Bukit Duri, resulted in a clash in which many were injured in August.

The city administration has been planning to evict Bukit Duri residents since May, but the plan was postponed until apartments were ready.

The community offered an alternative solution to the city administration several times, but negotiations hit a wall.

The residents eventually filed a class-action suit against the plan at the Jakarta District Court, the trial of which is ongoing. The residents received their last eviction notices last week. The residents also filed a lawsuit with the Jakarta State Administrative Court (PTUN) against the eviction notices.

Commenting on the class action, Tri said he had sought legal advice. “They said it was fine to execute the plan as there is no interlocutory judgement yet,” he said.

Tri referred to Article 67 of Law No. 5/1986 on administrative justice, which states that a lawsuit does not delay or hamper the execution of a decision of a public official. Plaintiffs can propose a delay when legal proceedings are ongoing.

He added that the judges only suggested the city administration halt the process, but it was not obligatory.

Eva Soemarwi, a legal team member at Ciliwung Merdeka, an organization that helps empower residents on the Ciliwung riverbanks, voiced disappointment with the city administration.

“The administration should be obliged to follow a good governance fundamental, which is legal certainty,” she said.

She added that the administration should not start the eviction before a court announced an interlocutory judgement, which was scheduled for Oct. 10.

Vera said even though the city administration would execute the plan tomorrow, the legal proceedings of the two cases would continue.