Aceh – Indonesia, The land acquisition plan to reroute Dr. Syarif Thayeb Road to Seulanga Road near the dr. Zainoel Abidin Regional General Hospital (RSUDZA) in Banda Aceh has drawn criticism from affected residents. They are questioning the land acquisition process, including the execution of public consultations held by the Banda Aceh City Government.
Legal counsel for one of the affected residents, Sayed Mahathir, considers that the public consultation conducted by the Banda Aceh City Government failed to fully provide space for residents to voice their aspirations and objections.
“Essentially, a public consultation should accommodate the public’s aspirations or objections. However, that was ignored,” Sayed said.
Previously, the Banda Aceh City Government held a public consultation with affected residents at the Kuta Alam Sub-district Office, Banda Aceh, on Thursday, October 1, 2026.
The event was attended by the Land Acquisition Preparation Team, the Director of RSUDZA, as well as several officials from the Banda Aceh City Government.
The committee also invited several Geuchiks (village heads) from the affected areas, alongside owners of the land and buildings located within the planned road diversion site.
A number of affected residents raised objections during the meeting, particularly land and building owners of plots 8 and 20 within the development plan.
“Strangely enough, the written objection we submitted was initially rejected, and only after we explained it comprehensively was it finally accepted,” Sayed stated.
He also questioned the execution of the public consultation, stating that the process failed to provide adequate explanations to the community regarding the land acquisition plan.
Sayed linked the issue to the provisions of Article 31 of Government Regulation Number 19 of 2021 concerning the Implementation of Land Acquisition for Development in the Public Interest.
According to him, several matters that need to be explained to the community include the stages and timeline of the land acquisition, the role of appraisers in determining compensation values, the objects assessed for compensation, the forms of compensation, and the rights and obligations of affected residents.
“The public consultation process has not provided adequate explanations to the community regarding the land acquisition plan, even though a public consultation is fundamentally a forum to address the aspirations and objections of affected citizens,” he said.
Beyond the public consultation, Sayed also questioned the planning process of the land acquisition for the alternative road development project.
He mentioned that the Land Acquisition Planning Document (DPPT) had not been shown to affected residents, adding that his party had not received any information regarding the project’s feasibility study.
“The land acquisition plan carried out by the Banda Aceh City Government has been problematic from the start because the Land Acquisition Planning Document (DPPT) was never disclosed to affected residents. There is also no feasibility study,” he added.
Sayed further questioned the use of Minister of Health Regulation Number 40 of 2022 as the legal basis for the land acquisition plan intended for the integration of the RSUDZA area.
According to Sayed, the regulation has been revoked and declared null and void, making its application as a legal basis questionable.
The residents’ objections are part of the ongoing dynamics surrounding the land acquisition plan for the Dr. Syarif Thayeb Road diversion to Seulanga Road, which is tied to the integration needs of the RSUDZA area.
“Therefore, it is reasonable to suspect that certain interests from Banda Aceh city government officials lie behind this road development plan,” Sayed remarked.
Meanwhile, Assistant for Governance, Special Autonomy, and People’s Welfare of Banda Aceh, who also serves as the Head of the Land Acquisition Preparation Team, Bachtiar, stated that the public consultation was held to convey clear information to the community regarding the land acquisition plan for road expansion around RSUDZA.
“This information must be properly received by the public so that they know exactly what the Banda Aceh City Government is doing and for what purpose,” Bachtiar said, as reported on the official Banda Aceh Diskominfo website.
He added that prior to holding the public consultation, the Banda Aceh City Government had conducted outreach programs and installed boundary markers at the locations affected by the land acquisition plan.
“We have also opened a consultation desk at the Banda Aceh City Public Works and Spatial Planning (PUPR) Office for residents seeking further information on this land acquisition,” he said.