KONTAN.CO.ID - JAKARTA. The Home Ministry has not given its stamp of approval on the budget allocated by the Jakarta administration to compensate victims of fallen trees.

The rejection was among the results of an evaluation conducted by the ministry on Jakarta’s 2019 regional budget (APBD). In the budget, which was approved at the Jakarta Legislative Council plenary meeting at Rp 89 trillion (US$6.1 billion), the city administration allocated Rp 1.03 billion for the fallen tree compensation.

“It was because the budget allocation was deemed as not having a legal basis,” Jakarta Financial Management Body (BPKD) head Edy Sumantri said on Friday as reported by kompas.com.

City Council deputy speaker M. Taufik who led the meeting urged the city administration to keep allocating funds for compensation.

“The city administration must dare to intervene to help residents who suffer injuries,” he said adding that fallen tree incidents are under the responsibility of the administration.

The Gerindra Party politician urged the administration to have a discussion with the ministry to make way for the funds.

Previously, the Jakarta Forestry Agency announced that Jakartans who were injured or suffered material losses from fallen trees could request compensation from the agency.

The agency's acting head Susi Marsitawati said the size of the compensation would depend on the severity of the injury or damage to vehicles or property.

Editor: Barratut Taqiyyah Rafie