Demolition of apartments legal: Official

Demolition of apartments legal: Official

JAKARTA (JP): The city's secretary assistant for development administration H. Prawoto S. Danoemihardjo says that the demolition of the Rawa Bilal low-cost apartments in Tebet subdistrict, South Jakarta, is not against the law.

"PD Pembangunan Sarana Jaya has the right to demolish the apartments because the company has already secured a permit to do so from the municipal administration," Prawoto told reporters following a meeting with some of the company's executives at his office on Thursday.

Earlier it was reported that PD Pembangunan Sarana Jaya, a city-owned housing developer, did not have the right to demolish the apartments because the apartments were considered property of the city administration.

The developer demolished the apartments to make way for the construction of luxury apartments and a shopping center.

"The city council had no knowledge of the proposal for demolishing the apartments. As far as I know, the apartments belong to the city administration," said H. Mansyur Achmad, a city councilor from commission A which oversees government affairs.

"The Rawa Bilal apartments no longer belong to the city administration. They have already been handed over to PD Pembangunan Sarana Jaya, so the company is free to do whatever it wants to the apartments," Prawoto said.

According to a decision made by the Central Jakarta District Court in 1994, PD Pembangunan Sarana Jaya was to give a compensation rate of Rp 60 million (US$27,272) to each of the families living in the apartments. PD Pembangunan Sarana Jaya appealed the decision, however, and up to now the company has yet to give anything to the families.(31)