TO SET UP LAND BANK IS PRESSING NECESSITY

Stakeholders and observers of the property sector were expecting that the housing sector would no longer be the underprivileged sector in the next Government. Poor understanding among Government officials of the housing sector put the housing sector into adverse condition. For that matter, it would be necessary to set up a Land Bank which managed Government owned land like BUMN and BUMD where housing would be built for the people.

Execution of programs needed President’s firm interference, not just solution at Ministrial level and land bank must be set up at once. The land bank would solve housing problem for the low income group by the central or provincial Government through Government institutions like Perumnas or BUMD.

Budi Prayitno, Chairman of the Settlement Study Center of the University of Gajah Mada stated on Thursday [9/10] that in fact land problem could be solved by land bank concept could also be abused for serving certain interest. The land bank concept should be strategic means to secure the right to live for the marginal people.

Budi remarked further that there were two types of land banks General Land Bank and Special Land Bank. The General Land Bank managed land in large scale for non-profit purpose for the public. Today the land bank concept was already exercised in Swiss, Belgium, and Holland. Meanwhile the special land bank would manage land in small scale for profitable means. This was exercised in the USA. How about land bank implementation in Indonesia or Jakarta? Budi said that in Indonesia the role of the Central Government was still called for, although the authority was in the region. The reason was because the land bank operation was still deviation prone.

Besides there must be clarity and firmness in defining the recipient. The beneficiaries of land banks were the poor people. The land bank scheme must have no grey-areas which might cause the program to miss target. The case of Rusunami apartment should serve as lesson to learn. As there were loopholes in Rusunami regulations, the Government subsidy was not benefited by the rightful target; there were even cases where the Rusunami apartment was bought by investors for resale.

Meanwhile Agus Sumargiarto, Deputy of Estate Development of the Ministry of People’s Housing disclosed that he was probing on the possibility of setting up a land bank this year. Land procurement effort was being coordinated with the National Land Board [BPN]. The initial step taken by the Ministry was to make inventory of Property of the State [BMN] and Property of the Region [BMD] in the form of land. He also stated that he was acquiring BUMN’s idle land.

Agus stated that he was asking for the Right for Land Use which had expired to BPN. He hoped that by year end the list would be issued. When the right was obtained, Agus said, the Ministry would not sell land which had entered the land bank system. Agus underscored that the land was not for sale, but would be used for a period of 60 years. The Ministry’s data had it that the inventory budget for first phase of land buying came to Rp56 billion. On spaces of land in urban areas would be built modest 16 – 18 storey apartment. In the regencies houses could still be built. (SS) 

Business News - October 15, 2014