PSI Highlights Rp3.3 Billion Waste Of COVID-19 Cemetery Land, Deputy Governor Of DKI: Everything Has Been Calculated, No Excess

Deputy Governor of DKI Riza Patria/DOK VOI-Diah Ayu

JAKARTA - The Indonesian Solidarity Party (PSI) has asked DKI Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan to explain in detail the findings of the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) regarding the waste of land acquisition for COVID-19 graves with the 2020 APBDP.

Jakarta Deputy Governor Ahmad Riza Patria again questioned the wasteful procurement of COVID-19 graves referred to by PSI. Riza Patria emphasized that there is no term 'excess'.

"Well, there will be a shortage, an excess, and a mistake. Everything has been calculated. The need for graves is not only for COVID-19 but also for ordinary burials. So there are no advantages, in fact they are lacking,” Riza Patria told reporters, Monday, August 23 night.

Previously, PSI's spotlight was related to the DKI Jakarta City Parks and Forest Service which procured a COVID-19 burial ground of Rp71.24 billion on Jalan Bachelor, Srengseng Sawah, Jagakarsa, South Jakarta. BPK's findings indicate a waste of IDR 3.3 billion.

“Initially, the land acquisition budget was removed because the APBD was in deficit due to the pandemic. But we wonder why Pak Anies suddenly asked for a budget of Rp 219 billion for the procurement of land for the COVID-19 graveyard, while in fact the provincial government still owns a lot of land. Unfortunately again, when there was an alleged wastage of the Rp3.33 billion budget for the land acquisition for the COVID-19 tomb, he seemed to have run away from responsibility. The DPRD has questioned it at the plenary session, but the governor has not answered it," said member of Commission D of the DKI DPRD from the PSI faction, Justin Adrian, Monday, August 23.

The total budget for land acquisition for COVID-19 graves is IDR 219 billion. Meanwhile, the realization was Rp. 186.24 billion, which was used to buy land for burials in 5 locations.

One of them is in Srengseng Sawah Village, South Jakarta, with an area of 1.43 hectares consisting of 6 fields. The unit price for 4 plots of land is Rp. 5.2 million per square meter and the other 2 parcels are Rp. 4.75 million per square meter.

BPK found 4 irregularities in this land acquisition. The first oddity is the location of the land 50 meters from Jalan Sarana. Second, there is no access to the burial ground, so you have to go through a footpath on land owned by residents. Third, the land is in a basin, which is an elevation of 3 meters below Jalan Sarjana.

The fourth oddity is that the location of the land is in the H.3 burial zone which cannot be used for building and obtaining an IMB. However, the calculation of market prices uses comparative land with a zoning designation of R.9 for low KDB houses.

“Logically, because there are 4 irregularities, then the price of land should be lower than the land around it. However, BPK found that the DKI Provincial Government did not take into account these 4 factors as components that reduce prices and were not taken into account when negotiating prices with land owners, "said Justin.

Based on these problems, BPK then asked the City Parks and Forest Service to recalculate the market price. The results show that land acquisition is more expensive at Rp. 3.33 billion.