Fadel Muhammed's renovations undone

The city buildings supervision agency dismantled on Monday an unauthorized structure at the house of Fadel Muhammad, the incumbent governor of Gorontalo, because the ongoing renovation process has violated city regulations.

Agency head Adi Sarnadi said renovation of the house,located on Jl. Suwiryo 39, Menteng, Central Jakarta, was in breach of a 1975 gubernatorial decree that permits limited alterations to buildings in historical Menteng.

"The renovation does not conform with the license that was granted," he said.

According to Adi, the original Dutch-style house is categorized as Type B, meaning that any renovations deemed to be necessary must not change the original appearance of the building or its roof. However, the house was in the process of being turned into a two-story, modern building.

The demolition began at about 11 a.m., carried out by agency workers and public order officers, guarded by police. The workers hired to renovate the house also helped in dismantling the new roof and the structure they had erected.

The Central Jakarta Buildings Supervision Agency had issued warnings to halt the renovation work and return the house to its original state since August, but these had been ignored.

"It was just last week that the developer came and promised to dismantle the new structure ... Upon observing that no work had been carried out since that time, we decided to do it ourselves today," Adi said.

Fadel could not be reached for comment. -- JP