DPR: State Must Be Present, Disaster Victims Land Certificates Must Be Free

Illustration of flooding in West Sumatra (BNPB doc)

Member of Commission II of the Indonesian House of Representatives, Indrajaya, asked the Ministry of Agrarian and Spatial Planning/National Land Agency (ATR/BPN) to make land certificate processing free of charge for people affected by the Sumatra disaster. If necessary, ATR/BPN officers will come directly to the homes of flood and landslide victims in Aceh, North Sumatra and West Sumatra.

Indrajaya emphasized that all land services for disaster victims must be free of charge and facilitated, including the issuance of replacement certificates for residents who lost or suffered damage to documents due to disasters.

"For flood victims whose houses are damaged and the certificate is lost or damaged, the state must be present. The management of the new certificate must be assisted and free of charge," said Indrajaya to reporters, Friday, December 19.

"Don't wait for the community to take care of themselves, if possible, the ATR/BPN officers will come directly to the victims' homes," he continued.

According to the member of the commission which handles domestic and agrarian governance, the damaged and lost land documents due to flooding are a serious problem. Therefore, Indrajaya asked ATR/BPN to proactively conduct a re-inventory.

"Including opening a special land service post in disaster-affected areas," he said.

The legislator from South Papua also emphasized that one of the most serious post-disaster problems was the loss of boundaries and land identity. He said, the boundary marker could be lost or shifted, the land contour changed due to subsidence, cracks, or uplift which resulted in the land no longer being clearly identifiable.

"This condition is felt especially by farmers. The boundaries of the rice fields are lost, so that the land cannot be remeasured and has the potential to trigger conflicts between residents. If this is not immediately addressed, local-level agrarian conflicts can increase," he said.

As a preventive measure, Indrajaya also proposed a moratorium and strict supervision of land transactions in post-disaster areas. The goal is to protect victims from losing their land rights due to economic pressure or unclear land status.

"Free certificates for disaster victims are a tangible form of the state's presence in protecting the basic rights of the people. The state must not be absent. In a disaster situation, land affairs must be part of the recovery, not a source of new problems," he explained.

In addition to ATR/BPN, Indrajaya also asked the Ministry of Home Affairs (Kemendagri) through the regional government and the Population and Civil Registration Service to assist disaster victims in handling ID cards, family cards, and other administrative documents.

"Everything must be free of charge and made easier. There should be no victims of disasters who are burdened with complicated costs and procedures," he concluded.