Only 20% buildings have permits

Only 200,000 of an estimated one million permanent buildings across the city have building permits, a city official has said.

Suharto, the chief of the City Supervision and Development Office, was quoted by Antara as saying yesterday that a large number of buildings built by residents in the capital city lack building permits, especially those in slum areas,

In efforts to encourage residents to apply for building permits, Suharto said that the city administration had taken steps to simplify procedures for the application of the documents.

"Under the new plan, we hope we can issue 16,000 building permits every year," he said.

Suharto said that the city administration also planned to provide the owners of permanent buildings located in slum areas with the so-called "building papers," so their premises maintain a semblance of legality.

"If the governor approves of the plan, we will soon issue the `building papers'," he said. (jsk)