Developer challenges public to take case to court<\/p>\n
Ahmad Junaidi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The developer of luxurious housing complex Pantai Indah Kapuk
\nin North Jakarta, which is accused of causing floods, challenged
\nthe public on Monday to take the case to court.<\/p>\n
"We are ready to face any legal action," the president of
\ndeveloper PT Mandara Permai, Budi Nurwono, told reporters after
\nmeeting Governor Sutiyoso at City Hall.<\/p>\n
Budi, accompanied by the firm's owner, property tycoon
\nCiputra, denied that the housing project had caused floods along
\nthe toll road heading to Soekarno-Hatta International Airport.
\nBut he said that his company had agreed to finance the
\ndevelopment of a water dike along nearby Angke river to protect
\nthe area from encroaching seawater.<\/p>\n
The 1,160-hectare complex has long sparked controversy as it
\nwas built in 1989 on area formerly covered by mangrove forest and
\nswamps. The construction of the project was approved by then
\nminister of forestry Hasjrul Harahap and then governor Wiyogo
\nAtmodarminto.<\/p>\n
Several NGOs are planning to file a class action suit against
\nthe developer for causing floods in the nearby Penjaringan area.<\/p>\n
They accused the developer of violating the city's land-use
\nplan for building the complex on a protected green belt area.<\/p>\n
According to the city's master land-use plan for 1985 and
\n2005, the location was still designated a green belt area.<\/p>\n
But it was changed into a residential area in 1995. The
\nconversion was justified with the issuance of Bylaw No. 6\/1999 on
\nthe city's land-use plan. The bylaw, which remains valid until
\n2010, stipulates that the location, where PIK is situated, is
\ndesignated for housing, instead of a green belt area.<\/p>\n
Budi said that the housing project was built on former fish
\nponds that belonged to the Ministry of Forestry, not on a water
\ncatchment area and mangrove forest.<\/p>\n
"We refuse the accusation that we caused flooding... and we
\nreject any change to our housing complex before it is decided by
\na court," he said.<\/p>\n
City Governor Sutiyoso earlier suggested that a golf course in
\nthe housing complex should be changed into a water dam to reduce
\nflooding in the area.<\/p>\n
Budi claimed that the annual floods in areas near the toll
\nroad were mainly caused by the sea tide, which had further
\nencroached on inland areas because the land had sunk 70
\ncentimeters since 1974.<\/p>\n
But Budi could not explain how his company managed to exchange
\nthe 1,160-hectare plot of land owned by the forestry ministry
\nwith several plots in West Java and two islands north of Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Records show that the developer exchanged the land in North
\nJakarta with a 1,190-hectare site in Citarum, Cianjur, a 75-
\nhectare plot in Rumpin, Bogor and a 350-hectare piece of land in
\nNagrak, Sukabumi.<\/p>\n
The developer also acquired an 18.4-hectare site on West
\nPenjaliran island and a 19-hectare site on East Penjaliran
\nisland, part of the Thousand Island chain, located north of
\nJakarta and gave them to the ministry.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/developer-challenges-public-to-take-case-to-court-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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