News Update
Conflicting Land Ownership Claims Revealed in Serpong-Balaraja Toll Road Project
Jakarta — The construction of the Serpong–Balaraja Toll Road, one of Indonesia's national strategic infrastructure projects, continues to progress. However, the project has encountered several challenges, including disputes over land ownership affecting the land acquisition process.
One such dispute resulted in the land compensation funds being deposited with the Tangerang District Court through a judicial consignment mechanism while ownership issues were being resolved.
According to Dr. H. Endang Hadrian, S.H., M.H., Founder and Managing Partner of Endang Hadrian & Partners, one of these disputes involved his client in Civil Case No. 330/Pdt.G/2022/PN.Tng, which was decided on 18 November 2022.
Dr. Endang explained that the matter began in 2021, when the Land Acquisition Committee officially recognized his client as the owner of a 10,000-square-meter parcel of land located in the BSD area. Approximately 6,259 square meters of the property (Land Identification Number/NIB 217) were designated for acquisition as part of the Serpong–Balaraja Toll Road Project.
"When the Land Acquisition Committee was preparing to pay compensation to our client, another party suddenly claimed to be the lawful heir of the registered landowner," Dr. Endang stated.
According to Dr. Endang, the competing claimant relied upon a girik (traditional land registration document) bearing the same registration number. Although the names appearing on the documents were similar, they referred to different individuals, resulting in a dispute over the identity of the lawful owner.
As a consequence, the Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing (PUPR) was unable to release the compensation directly to the registered owner. Instead, the compensation funds were deposited with the Tangerang District Court through a judicial consignment process, pending a final judicial determination regarding ownership of the disputed land.
The case illustrates the legal complexities that may arise during land acquisition for public infrastructure projects and highlights the importance of judicial resolution in safeguarding the rights of legitimate landowners while ensuring compliance with Indonesia's land acquisition framework.
