Residents occupying the eastern side of the Ria-Rio dam in Pulomas, East Jakarta, are insisting that the Jakarta administration provide them with appropriate compensation before demolishing their houses as part of its regreening program.

'€œI spent Rp 17 million (US$1,580) to rebuild my house after fire engulfed this area in March,'€ resident Endang, 46, said. '€œNow the city administration wants to evict me and is only offering Rp 1 million in compensation.'€

The city administration plans to relocate at least 350 families living illegally in the area by the end of August as the construction of a city park on the 26-hectare site will begin next month, followed by the establishment of a multipurpose hall, jogging tracks, an amphitheater and an indoor sports center.

Endang, from Karawang, West Java, has been living in the area for 40 years. After her husband passed away three years ago, she has become completely dependant on her son who works in a factory near the dam.

She explained that the residents realized that they were occupying state-owned land. After a fire destroyed their homes in late March, therefore, they were afraid to rebuild their houses because the fire might be followed by an eviction process.

'€œJokowi (Governor Joko Widodo) visited the area after the fire and said that it was OK for the residents to rebuild their houses and that they would not be evicted,'€ she said.

She said the residents were very disappointed that the governor had lied to them.

'€œIf Jokowi said that the administration would relocate us, we would prepare to move to other areas or build temporary houses,'€ she said.

According to a community leader, more than 300 families are registered as residents of neighborhood units (RT) No. 6 and 7 of community unit (RW) 15 in Pulogadung'€™s Kayu Putih subdistrict, East Jakarta.

Didin Safrudin, the head of RT 6, said that the land that they occupied once belonged to a land lord named Haji Jali, who sold it to newcomers in the 1960s.

'€œThe people who bought the land from Jali did not ask for legal documents,'€ he said. '€œThose people only got receipts from him.'€

However, he said that around 70 residents, including him, had legal documents for their houses, so they did not have to worry about being evicted.

Didin acknowledged that the new governor had good plans for the city and that the residents would accept the eviction if they received appropriate compensation.

Jakarta Deputy Governor Basuki '€œAhok'€ Tjahaja Purnama said recently that only three people had legal documents for their plots of land and they were willing to sell their houses to the city.

Apart from houses on the eastern side of the reservoir, a private Muslim elementary school called MIS Al-Istiqamah may have to be relocated.

A teacher of the school, Edi Mawardi, said that the school was established with support from non-governmental organizations in order to provide affordable education for local children.

'€œI hope the city administration will provide a new school for the students,'€ he said, adding that the school had been operating for three years.

Jokowi said on Wednesday that the city administration would prepare three low-cost apartment complexes in East Jakarta '€” in Cipinang Besar Selatan, Komaruddin and Marunda '€” to accommodate the squatters.

Retno Pujiati, 50, who spent Rp 40 million to rebuild her house, said that the planned apartment complexes were too far from her current home.

'€œMy husband works as a security guard in an office nearby and I have been running my credit business at home,'€ she said. '€œIt will be very difficult for us if we have to move to an apartment far from away here.'€ (ian)

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