Multa Fidrus – An ongoing project to reclaim land from Lake Rawa Kayu Antap in Rempoa subdistrict, East Ciputat district, South Tangerang, by a housing developer has sparked protests from local residents.
Rawa Kayu Antap Forum (SRKAF) chairman Baharudin Nasution said recently the group's call for a halt to the reclamation had fallen on deaf ears, with the South Tangerang administration doing nothing to stop PT Hana Kreasi Persada, the developer of the Beranda Townhouse estate.
"The administration has done nothing to stop the developer; the reclamation work still goes on day and night," Baharudin said.
He claimed to represent residents of housing estates currently located around the lake, including estates owned by the Army, the Publics Work Ministry and state electricity company PLN, as well as the Expedition, Taman Rempoa Indah and Taman Rempoa Hijau housing complexes.
Baharudin questioned South Tangerang Acting Mayor M.H. Shaleh's will to stop the reclamation work.
Shaleh previously said the state-owned lake had been sold by local residents to developer Hana Kreasi Persada. "If the acting mayor doesn't come to inspect and stop the reclamation work, the residents will stage a rally in protest at his office very soon," Baharudin said.
The forum has filed complaints with Banten Governor Ratu Atut Chosiah, the Banten Prosecutor's Office, the National Land Agency and the provincial zoning agency, with no response forthcoming from any of them.
Hana Kreasi Persada spokesman Tonison Ginting said the developer had done everything by the book in the reclamation project.
He added the company had conducted in-depth analyses and research to reclaim land from the lake to make way for the expansion of a housing complex on Jl. Delima Jaya in Rempoa.
"We've obtained legal documents that describe the location of the land in 1974, and the documents state explicitly that the land does not belong to the state," Tonison said.
He added Hana Kreasi Persada had also paid Rp 30 million to each family occupying land on the shores of the lake, to compensate the squatters for vacating the area.