Illegal Puncak villas cost Rp 5m each to demolish

BOGOR, West Java (JP): Regency officials claim it is costing the Bogor authorities Rp 5 million (US$1,800) to demolish each of the buildings constructed illegally in the Puncak area.

Spokesman for the Bogor Regency, Denny M. Moechry, said the money, earmarked as unexpected expenses in the local budget, is spent on renting the heavy equipment used to tear down the buildings, and food and transportation for the workers.

"The buildings standing on the state land, and those standing on preserved areas or water catchments are the target of the demolition team," Denny told The Jakarta Post yesterday.

The demolition of the villas and other buildings in Puncak has been under the spotlight since President Soeharto established the Bogor-Puncak-Cianjur spatial management team to return the areas to its function as a water catchment, as was originally defined in a 1985 presidential decree.

The team, led by the head of the National Spatial Planning Coordinating Board, Ginandjar Kartasasmita, was founded in March following the floods which hit the city in January and February and claimed 30 lives.

Warnings

Denny said the authorities always give villa owners three warnings ordering them to demolish their own buildings before they moving in.

The main constraint for the demolition team is that most of the owners live in Jakarta.

"The housekeepers usually refuse to convey the warnings or demolition order to the owners. Moreover many of the owners use other people's names when applying for building permits," Denny said.

He said 150 buildings located on unauthorized locations are listed for demolition, however, only 26 of them have been pulled down.

Denny said none of the villa owners have filed lawsuits against the Bogor administration over the demolition of their illegally-constructed buildings.

"They might be afraid of the response of the Bogor administration. If they are found to be on state property they would face serious charges," he said.

Asked whether influential people have hampered the demolition plan, he said "We record the buildings standing on unauthorized areas. We never identify the owners."

He said he had no idea when asked to confirm whether some generals, who own villas in Puncak, had demolished their villas by themselves. "As far as I know no one has demolished villas themselves." (21/sur)