Ciliwung's Normalization Is Still Stagnant, Anies' Subordinates Admit That The Problem Is Still In Land Acquisition

Illustration/Photo: Antara

JAKARTA - Head of the Water Resources Service (SDA) Yusmada Faizal conveyed the latest news regarding the plan to normalize the Ciliwung River. It turns out that currently the normalization project is still stalled in terms of land acquisition.

In fact, DKI Jakarta Deputy Governor Ahmad Riza Patria once said that the payment for land acquisition for the normalization of Ciliwung could be completed by the end of 2021.

This subordinate of the Governor of DKI Jakarta, Anies Baswedan, admitted that there are still many residents who object to the cost of compensation for residential land that will be evicted by the DKI Provincial Government.

"The problem is administration. Many object to it, it takes time," Yusmada told reporters, Tuesday, March 1.

Actually, there is a consignment option that the DKI Provincial Government can do. When negotiations on land acquisition with residents reach a dead end, the DKI Provincial Government can entrust the cost of compensation for land acquisition to the court and immediately intensify the evictions.

However, Yusmada did not want to do that.

"The consignment is when there is a disagreement because the program is just starting. Usually, we will take the final step on a consignment. But, we hope that doesn't happen," said Yusmada.

Thus, the process of land acquisition for normalization is still being carried out, although it is running slowly.

So far, the DKI Provincial Government has completed the land acquisition in 2 urban villages, namely Cawang and Rawajati. Meanwhile, from a total of 7 urban villages, there are still 5 of them that have not been completed, namely Kebon Baru, Manggarai, Pengadegan, Bidara Cina, and Kampung Melayu.

However, Yusmada also cannot confirm when the land acquisition will be completed. "So, the provincial government is committed to land acquisition. It's in stages," he explained.

As is known, the normalization project is carried out by the central government through the Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing. Then, the DKI Provincial Government is tasked with taking care of land acquisition for affected residents' houses.

However, the process of normalizing the Ciliwung and Pesanggrahan rivers which began in 2013 was stalled in 2017 due to disagreements on the value of compensation between residents and the government.

Until the end of December 2019, the DKI Provincial Government has started to determine the location of river normalization. Then, carry out other tasks related to preparation for procurement, such as talking to the situation of residents whose land will be acquired.