No more villas being built in Puncak

No more villas being built in Puncak

BOGOR (JP): Not a single house or holiday villa has been built
in the Puncak hill resort since the launch of the Bogor regency's
aggressive operations against illegal construction in the area
late last year, an official said yesterday.

Regency spokesman Denny M. Moechry told The Jakarta Post that
of the 500 houses and villas known to lack permits, 150 had been
demolished.

The main objective of demolishing the illegally built houses
and villas was to prevent further damage to water catchment
areas. The drive to preserve Puncak came in the wake of major
floods in Jakarta last February,

Denny explained the demolished buildings were those built on
plots of land either belonging to the state, located in water
catchment areas or erected without proper building permits.

The biggest difficulty in the implementation of the demolition
operation, Denny said, was when officials learned the illegal
houses or villas belonged to "strong people" with links to high-
ranking and influential officials.

He said that many of the illegal buildings, which had not been
demolished, were owned by people in this category.

"How can we demolish them if the regency officers, including
myself, are continuously terrorized?" he asked.

Limited funds was another hindrance. "The demolition has
practically stopped over the last few months, due to the limited
availability of money," Denny said.

At least Rp 4 million (US$1,428) was needed for each
operation, the spokesman said. Costs included hiring a bulldozer,
buying food for the officers involved and paying the workers'
transportation fees.

The money, which came from the regency's budget and the
regent's operational funds, had run out, he said. "The Bogor
regency has no idea when the operation will start again," he
said.

Even though the demolition had been temporarily halted, Denny
expressed satisfaction that, unlike in the past, the public had
increasingly heeded the Bogor regency's actions.

"New buildings used to emerge once we finished demolishing
others. Now, however, no more building projects are carried out
there."

Moreover, Denny said, the number of sales of land plots had
also fallen sharply. "Wealthy people possibly think there is no
use buying land in Puncak if it can no longer be utilized as the
land has been set aside for water catchment areas." (24/hhr)