Legal Challenge to Kalideres Crematorium Postponed as West Jakarta Administration Fails to Appear
Jakarta – Residents of Kalideres, West Jakarta, are pressing the West Jakarta City Administration to respond to a summons for a court hearing at the State Administrative Court (PTUN) Jakarta concerning a lawsuit against the Swarga Abadi Housing and Crematorium project.
This pressure emerged after the first hearing of the residents’ lawsuit was postponed because the defendant—the West Jakarta City Administration—failed to appear without explanation during proceedings held on Wednesday, 11 March 2026.
Budiman Tandiono, coordinator of residents from Citra Garden 2, expressed disappointment at the absence of a representative from the West Jakarta Administrator in the hearing.
“Our hope going forward is that during the preparatory examination, the defendant will appear in court, and we all hope the defendant will promptly revoke the building permit (PBG) of Yayasan Rumah Swarga Abadi so that the crematorium construction can be completely halted,” Budiman said when contacted by Kompas.com on Wednesday.
Budiman explained that the absence of the defendant, whether directly or through legal representatives, led the bench of judges to reschedule the hearing and send a new official summons.
“Today the defendant from the mayor’s office did not appear without clear reason, neither the defendant directly nor their legal representative. Therefore, a new summons will be issued to the defendant,” he stated.
According to Budiman, today’s hearing should still have been at the initial stage of the court proceedings, namely the preparatory examination which includes examination of case files and administrative documentation from the plaintiff.
However, the bench of judges also provided several administrative evaluation notes to the residents to complete documents, such as power of attorney and lawsuit documents. As a result, the hearing was postponed until the end of the month.
Regarding the defendant’s failure to appear, Kompas.com attempted to contact West Jakarta Administrator Iin Mutmainnah as well as the head of the Sub-Service for Public Works, Spatial Planning, and Land (CKTRP) of West Jakarta, Lucia Purbarini. However, until this report was published, there was no response or official statement from the West Jakarta City Administration.
Previously, residents from four Rukun Warga (neighbourhood associations) in Kalideres and Pegadungan officially filed a lawsuit with PTUN Jakarta concerning the housing and crematorium project.
The lawsuit, case number 83/G/2026/PTUN JKT, was registered on Tuesday, 3 March 2026 and targeted the West Jakarta leadership as the entity that issued the Building Permit (PBG) for the project.
“The defendant is the West Jakarta Administrator represented by the head of the Capital Investment Management Unit and One-Stop Integrated Service (PM-PTSP) of West Jakarta City,” Budiman explained.
The subject matter of the lawsuit is the building permit held by the developer, which according to residents was issued despite the project lacking environmental approval. Additionally, the construction site is located in the middle of a residential area.
“Yes, the lawsuit concerns the building permit. Because the issuance of the permit and construction violate regulations and local ordinances, specifically the prohibition against constructing in densely populated residential areas,” Budiman said.