Slums in Bukit Duri, Tebet, South Jakarta. Photo: Flickr.
Given the recent evictions of slum dwellers in Kampung Pulo, which is to be followed by evictions in Bukit Duri, it looks as if the government is finally getting really serious about ridding the city of its slums.
In fact, the Jakarta Provincial Government and the Central Government now say they are targeting to make the capital slum-free by 2019.
Specifically, the government has introduced the “100-0-100” program to raise the quality of life for Jakarta’s citizens. The numbers symbolizes: 100% of citizens having access to clean drinking water, 0% living in slums, and 100% having access to good sanitation by 2019.
Is the government too naïve to think they can achieve all that in just four years? Well, according to the Jakarta Statistics Agency, there has been a 25% decrease in slum settlements between 2008 and 2012, from 415 neighborhoods in 2008 to 309 in 2012.
To meet their target, the government will have no choice but to forcefully evict and relocate slum dwellers who live on settlements illegally built on state-owned land.
“So what’s the strategy? If the slums are located on state-owned land, then they (the slum dwellers) will be relocated to apartments. That’s what the provincial government did [in Kampung Pulo] with the help of Kempupera. The Jatinegara Barat apartments were built by Kempupera, and we provided the land,” said Vice Governor Djarot Saiful Hidayat, as quoted by BeritaSatu yesterday.
Whether 2019 is a realistic target or not, the government won’t have it easy if they want to wipe out slums throughout the city, as they would almost certainly encounter resistance just like they did in Kampung Pulo last week.
