Construction at heritage landmark illegal: Official

Construction at heritage landmark illegal: Official

JAKARTA (JP): City Secretary Fauzi Bowo said on Monday that
the construction of a four-story office building which demolished
part of a heritage landmark, the former Supreme Court building on
Jl. Lapangan Banteng Timur in Central Jakarta, was illegal.

"The construction activities have been carried out in the
absence of a building construction permit (IMB)," Fauzi told
reporters in his office.

He said the city administration would consider filing a
lawsuit with the Central Jakarta District Court if the owner
disobeyed the administration's instructions.

"All parties should bow to the existing regulations," said
Fauzi, who then called on Central Jakarta Mayor Andi Subur
Abdullah and deputy head of the city development control agency
(P2K) Djumhana to immediately issue an order to stop the
construction.

Fauzi instructed the two officials to draft a press release to
outline the unlawful tactics of the government institution which
owns the new building, the Budget Directorate of the Ministry of
Finance.

As of Monday, the construction activities continued on despite
the city administration's official warning letter to the
Directorate to halt construction. The letter was sent last
Friday.

The damage to the protected building violates the 1992 Law No.
5 on Heritage, which carries a maximum 10 years in jail or a Rp
100 million (US$14,286) penalty.

The former Supreme Court building was constructed in 1828 in
the Dutch colony's new government center called Weltevreden (now
the Lapangan Banteng area), after moving from its initial
location in the then downtown Kota area in West Jakarta.

The construction of the office complex has damaged several
parts of the historical building, including some old pillars.

No request

Contacted separately, Djumhana confirmed that P2K had yet to
receive any official request for a building construction permit.

"My subordinates said the owner acquired the building's block
plan certificate (released by the city planning agency), but they
(my subordinates) have not obtained any request for the building
construction permit," he said.

Djumhana said it has become common that a government-owned
building was constructed before the permit was completed.

"They usually continue the work while processing all necessary
documents," he said, adding that such action was actually
illegal.

Djumhana did not elaborate further as he was still collecting
data on the building construction permit application.

Separately, an expert on historical buildings, Grace
Pamungkas, lambasted P2K for failing to act when protected
buildings in the city were systematically being demolished.

"Such damage to protected buildings would not have occurred if
the control mechanism ran well. Every construction activity in
the city should obtain a building construction permit released by
the agency. So should they (officials), who play a role in
preserving the buildings," she said.

Grace said the agency had reportedly been connected with
corruption and collusion cases which contributed to the damage of
the city's built history.

"For instance, so many old buildings in the preserved areas of
Menteng in Central Jakarta have been changed into modern ones.
There are reports that the demolition of the old buildings was
carried out because of rampant collusion with agency officials,"
she said. (ind)