Fachrul Sidiq, Jakarta – Residents of Kebun Sayur in Ciracas, East Jakarta, gathered on Monday to protest a move by state-run bus company Perum PPD to develop a transit-oriented development (TOD) project in the area they have lived in for over 30 years.
Amid an ongoing legal dispute over the land, PPD, which claims that it owns the land and who has urged residents to leave the area, visited the site on Monday escorted by the Jakarta Police and lawyers.
"Residents questioned PPD's move and asked the company to show them the permit to measure the land and the land ownership certificate they claim to possess. But the company failed to show it to the residents," the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute (LBH Jakarta), which is assisting the residents, said in a statement.
"There was not even a prior notice regarding the land measurement activity," the LBH added.
The residents have gone to the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) to report the land dispute and asked the body to assist them in the case.
PPD earlier signed an agreement with state construction firm Adhi Karya, which is also a developer of the light rapid transit (LRT), to develop a TOD area in Ciracas.
Adhi Karya will develop the LRT and apartments while PPD will provide a shuttle bus service and build a bus station in the area.
Currently, the 4.5-hectare Kebun Sayur village is inhabited by 450 families comprising about 2,300 residents who mostly work as farmers or vegetable sellers. The residents said they first occupied and farmed the area in the 1980s.