Residents' Relocation Polemic Appears After Pertamina Plumpang Depot Fire, DPRD Chair: Ahok Warns Of Incidents

PHOTO VIA BETWEEN/Pertamina Plumpang Depot Fire Location

JAKARTA - Chairman of the DKI Jakarta DPRD, Prasetyo Edi Marsudi, opened his voice about the polemic of relocating residents in the Tanah Merah area after the fire that hit the Pertamina Plumpang depot that spread to settlements.

The location of the Pertamina Depot should have a buffer zone 50 meters wide from residential areas. However, there the distance between depots and settlements was only limited to a wall. So, when the depot caught fire yesterday, residents' houses in Tanah Merah Bawah were immediately hit by fire.

Although currently the status of the land is still in dispute, Prasetyo assessed that residents should not have settlements near the fuel terminal owned by the state-owned company.

"It should be a place that should not be occupied by the community. What is clear is that the government must be there, there is a policy of local governments and the central government," Prasetyo told reporters, Tuesday, March 7.

Actually, said Prasetyo, before this incident emerged, Basuki Tjahaja Purnama (Ahok) had asked the residents of Tanah Merah to move from their residential location now.

Ahok made this statement while still serving as Governor of DKI. Given, there is a potential danger because the location is close together.

However, when Anies Baswedan served as Governor of DKI, he issued a temporary building permit (IMB) for the residents of Tanah Merah in 2021. This IMB was given by Anies on the grounds that residents could get basic rights such as water to road repairs.

"So, what Mr. Ahok was warning about is happening now. The problem is in the issuance of the IMB," said Prasetyo.

When the relocation option appears, there is a potential for Tanah Merah residents to refuse to be moved from their settlements now. Given, the status of land in Tanah Merah with a total area of 160 hectares is still the object of dispute.

They also do not want to be relocated because they hold the IMB Area from Anies Baswedan which is stipulated in the DKI Governor Regulation (Pergub) Number 118 of 2020 concerning Space Utilization Permits.

Regional IMB Kawasan yang diberikan oleh Pemerintah Provinsi (Pemprov) DKI kepada warga Tanah Merah yaitu RW 08, 09, 10, dan 11 Kelurahan Rawa Badak Selatan, Kecamatan Koja; RT 07 dan RW 22 Kelurahan Kelapa Gading Barat, Kecamatan Kelapa Gading; serta ada 26 kampung lainnya di Jakarta.