Jakarta – The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) is advising the Bandung city administration to refrain from continuing a plan to build row houses in Balubur village, Bandung Wetan city, Bandung, West Java, before having a proper mediation with residents.
In October, Bandung Mayor Ridwan Kamil told the public that he would develop row houses in a 5,000-square-meter area that the city administration claimed to own. The development was intended to improve the village's condition.
The city administration promised that the residents would receive money to rent a house anywhere they wanted until the development was finished and that they would later be able to rent units at Rp 270,000 (US$18.50) per month.
However, residents are refusing the development due to unfair compensation.
"The administration only relied on the land status certificate it owns for the eviction. It did not have a proper public consultation to reach an agreement with the residents and did not do a proper appraisal for the land," Komnas HAM chairman Ahmad Taufan Damanik said in a statement on Monday.
He added that the residents had never agreed to the amount of land compensation or the relocation plan promised by the administration.
Ahmad said the Bandung administration should obey the 2005 law on international covenant on economic, social and cultural rights, which stipulates that a local administration should reach an agreement with the residents, give proper announcements and relocate the residents before an eviction. (ris)