Mayor wants control over development intensified

Mayor wants control over development intensified

JAKARTA (JP): The City Council has instructed the South
Jakarta mayor to get control of development in the South Jakarta
mayoralty and to cut back on the threats of demolition.

Helmy AR Syihab, the chairman of the council's Commission C
which oversees financial affairs, said yesterday that the large
number of demolition letters issued by the mayor indicates that
building control is still lax in the mayoralty.

"The construction of the buildings took several months, during
which time mayoralty officials could have monitored their
construction," he said.

Helmy regretted the mayor's instruction to demolish so many
buildings. "Those buildings reflect public capability," he said,
adding that demolition means wasting time and money.

He said the mayor should not only resort to demolition. "I
think a set of precautions would be more effective than
demolishing the illegal buildings".

South Jakarta Mayor Pardjoko recently said that in the last
two years he has issued 3,600 letters instructing that buildings
constructed without the proper documents be demolished.

In response to the one-roof service system of building permit
procedures implemented by the South Jakarta mayor, Helmy, who is
the deputy chairman of the council's United Development Party
faction, praised the system.

"Although the system does not make significant changes, it
provides better services to the public," he said.

He urged the four other mayors to implement the same system as
their South Jakarta counterpart, though suitable to their
areas.(32)