Building must be torn down: Court

BOGOR (JP): The Supreme Court has ordered the immediate demolition of a three-story building on Jl. Baru-Kedungbadak in Tanah Sareal and upheld a Bogor resident's claim that it was erected illegally.

The head of Bogor District Court, Arsad Sanusi, said that private developer PT Bangun Adigraha constructed the building, which has a floor space of 20,000 square meters and is located on a 57,905-square-meter plot.

The company leased the building to Mega M shopping center of Matahari group, despite an ongoing dispute between the developer and the landowner, Usnianingsih, he said Tuesday.

Usnianingsih's court victory means that she has been deemed the legal owner of the land, he said.

The developer has lodged several documents with the court to reinforce its request for the demolition to be postponed.

"But the Supreme Court has learned that the documents are fake and ordered the local court to enforce the order immediately."

Bogor District Court will oversee the bulldozing of the building which would have cost billions of rupiah to build, he said.

"But we're still looking for a win-win solution (for both parties) and an appropriate use for the building.

"We are trying to find ways in which both parties could come to an amicable agreement. The solution could vary, maybe the land owner could buy the building, or the developer could purchase the land."

Arsad said the two parties met on Nov. 18 and would meet again on Dec. 8 to further discuss the fate of the disputed building and the land.

But it seems that Usnianingsih does not want the building on her land.

Her lawyer, Sofyan Syarif, admitted that Arsad had urged his client to resolve the matter peacefully but "we want the Supreme Court's order to be executed soon".

Executives of PT Bangun Adigraha could not be reached for comment yesterday.

A spokesman for Matahari, Rudy Sumampouw, refused to provide details about the contracts.

"It's true that we're going to hire it but I have no authority to disclose details of the contract because we have another section handling the matter," he said. (24/bsr)