Legal Policies of Rural Development in Indonesia: Transforming Villages to Subjects of Development

Introduction

Rural development is a multi-level, multi-actor, and multifaceted process that relies on a large number of interconnected processes. Its realization requires consideration of various aspects, such as political, economic, social, environmental, and legal factors. In particular, rural development demands the establishment of robust legal frameworks. The present study examines the legal policies for rural development in Indonesia. In recent years, Indonesia has implemented decentralization policies at the village level and shifted its development agenda towards rural development. In this context, the Government of Indonesia enacted "LAW OF THE REPUBLIC OF INDONESIA NUMBER 6 OF 2014 CONCERNING VILLAGES," which serves as the country's national policy for community-based rural development. This study seeks to address the key question of what strategies law 6/2014 on Villages and its derivative regulations have prescribed for transforming villages from objects of development into subjects of development.



Methodology

This research is an applied study in terms of purpose, employing a Directed Content Analysis method with an Explication approach. The data for the research includes legal documents (such as government laws and regulations), reports from research institutions, and academic texts. Data collection was carried out through library resources and online databases.



Results and discussion

The Indonesian government has institutionalized four key strategies in law 6/2014 to transform villages into subjects of development:

First, robust institutional arrangements with extensive authority were adopted. Law 6/2014 triggered significant changes in rural governance in Indonesia, transforming the status of villages from mere administrative units under the regency/municipality to independent entities with the authority to regulate and manage their own governmental affairs and community interests. By freeing villages from the jurisdiction of higher government levels, the law grants broad powers to them. To enable villages to exercise such extensive authority, the law envisions the establishment of empowered, capable, and authoritative village governments.

Second, the law mandates a "bottom-up" development planning model. The village development plan is formulated and approved by the rural government with the participation of the rural community. In this model, the community targets the fund allocation based on their developmental needs, encouraging alignment between the people's needs and governmental programs.

Third, the law places significant emphasis on community participation in realizing development. Such participation is evident from the planning stage to all stages of the decision-making, implementation, and monitoring processes. The law provides for several mechanisms, including the establishment of a village consultative assembly, which includes the village head, village council, and all stakeholders from various socio-economic and cultural groups in the village to discuss and make decisions on strategic issues related to village governance. This assembly is designated as the highest decision-making body in the village, tasked with approving critical decisions made by the village government. The law also mandates annual reporting by the village head to the community regarding village governance at the end of each fiscal year and grants the community the right to provide input on draft village regulations.

Fourth, the most unique strategy institutionalized by the Indonesian government for rural development in this law is financial decentralization and the provision of sustainable financial resources to villages to realize development. In addition to the village's income and financial transfers from city/regency governments, which were stipulated by previous laws, the law mandates financial support for villages through allocations from the national budget. According to the law, the government must allocate 10 percent of all annual transfers to regional governments directly to the villages.

Realizing the capacities of villages requires viewing them as independent legal entities, having an efficient local institution to manage village affairs, and possessing the authority to regulate administrative, financial, and other matters. It also demands an appropriate mechanism for establishing connections between village governance and higher levels of government, a proper approach to rural development, and development programs with clear timeframes. Additionally, efficient human resources, specialized expertise, sustainable financial resources to fulfill duties and exercise authority, and the creation of infrastructure for delivering services to the village community are essential. An examination of Indonesia's Law 6/2014 on Villages reveals that all these elements have been addressed in the legislation.



Conclusion

Indonesia's Law 6/2014 on Villages represents a shift from a state-based development discourse, in which the government plays a key role in directing rural development, to a community-based discourse where the village and rural community lead the development process. Although Indonesia has adopted administrative and financial decentralization at the village level and a community-based development approach as a national policy for achieving rural development, national and regional institutions still play a crucial role in its implementation. Indonesia's experience demonstrates that the ideal approach to rural development is bottom-up, complemented by government guidance, oversight, facilitation, and support.