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Government to evict squatters from turnpikes
The city administration and the Public Works Ministry signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) Tuesday on securing land occupied by squatters along and below Jakarta's toll roads
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The city administration and the Public Works Ministry signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) Tuesday on securing land occupied by squatters along and below Jakarta's toll roads.
Turnpike sections discussed in the MoU are those that link Cawang in East Jakarta to areas in the north, such as Tanjung Priok, Ancol Timur, Jembatan Tiga and Prof. Dr. Sedyatmo airport.
Sarwo Handayani, assistant to the city secretary for development, said the agreement was crucial in the wake of an August 2007 fire on the Wiyoto Wiyono toll road in North Jakarta that weakened the road's structural integrity.
According to Sarwo, the fire was caused by squatters living under the flyover.
"This was the fourth such fire and it caused a lot of destruction and investor losses. It reminded related stakeholders that they need to take action to secure the toll roads from illegal squatters," she added.
Since the fire, the administration, the Public Works Ministry and tollroad companies have been evicting squatters and cleaning up land below and along the roads.
The administration has evicted illegal squatters from seven subdistricts along the Tanjung Priok section of Wiyoto Wiyono toll road, including Ancol, Penjaringan, Pejagalan, Warakas, Sungai Bambu, Papanggo and Pademangan Timur. The administration has also evicted squatters from the Pluit-Angke toll road in West Jakarta.
The administration has planted some 2,000 trees on the former squatter sites, Sarwo said.
"The clearance program ended in November. As a result, there are new, nonpermanent stalls in areas that had formerly been cleared. We can't let this go on," she added.
Public Works Minister Djoko Kirmanto said cleared tracts would be converted to green zones or other facilities that would pose no danger to tollroad users.
"The areas below the toll road flyovers are not meant for residential or commercial purposes. For that reason, we have evicted squatters living along or under toll roads," Djoko said.
Toll road companies PT Jasa Marga and PT Citra Marga Nusaphala Persada (CMNP) were participating in the clearance program, he added. Besides repairing the burnt tollroad section, the companies have provided Rp 25 billion (US$2.7 million) in compensation to the squatters.
"Of the 25 billion, CMNP provides Rp 20 billion and Jasa Marga, Rp 5 billion. Until now, we have disbursed Rp 15.5 billion. We hope to provide the remaining compensation by the end of the year," Djoko said.
Of 14,000 registered squatter families, around 2,000 remain on sites to be cleared, Sarwo said, adding the remaining 12,000 have received compensation or been relocated to nearby, low-cost apartments.
Agus Subardono, head of the city housing agency, said his agency had relocated 1,100 families to three low-income housing complexes in Kapuk Muara, Marunda and Cakung.
"The families were given easy access to housing. We don't know about the rest of the squatters. We only relocated the families the administration assigned to us," he added.
