Processing of demolition permit revised
Processing of demolition permit revised
JAKARTA (JP): The city administration is evaluating permit
processing procedures to see why developers are tending to
demolish city property to make way for construction projects.
Governor Surjadi Soedirdja said on Monday that the evaluation
is intended to answer the question as to why an increasing number
of the city's assets are being demolished by developers even
though they do not yet hold the necessary documents.
He said that based on observation, the developers in question
have all met the requirements for procedures and correspondence
in the processing of documents.
He said that he suspected that the concerned personnel at
related city agencies may be hampering the permit procedures
because the processing of many documents is not completed on
time.
"City administration personnel might have intentionally
hampered the issuance of permits to developers," Surjadi told
reporters at City Hall.
"We know that all developers want to build their projects as
soon as possible because their financing is derived from bank
loans which bear high interest rates," he said.
Therefore, some of them have been forced to violate the
existing rules by demolishing property even though they do not
yet have the proper documents, he added.
"We are determined to solve this problem immediately," he
said.
Recently, three developers have breached regulations by
demolishing city property without prior consent from the
Governor's Office or the City Council. Ironically, the property
was torn down before they prepared new buildings to replace the
demolished ones and to accommodate the students and other
residents, who are affected by their projects.
The first incident occurred when PT Catur Swasakti Utama (CSU)
destroyed a school building at Menteng Atas in Kuningan, South
Jakarta, to make way for the establishment of the swanky Taman
Rasuna Said apartments. Over 300 elementary school students were
displaced and forced to move to nearby schools.
While the municipal administration was still mulling what kind
of penalties were to be imposed on PT CSU, PT Kredosindo Perkasa
dismantled other school buildings to build the Sudirman Tower
condominiums behind Atmajaya University. About 400 elementary,
junior and senior high school students were moved to separate
schools in Srengseng, Kalibata and Karet.
The latest violation was that by PT Duta Buana Permai, which
is currently constructing the 20-story Pavilion Park apartment
building in Karet, Central Jakarta.
The governor said, however, that the city administration
cannot fully blame the developers for these violations.
"We will remain calm and not become too emotional in dealing
with such deviations," he said.
The municipal administration will continue encouraging
investment projects in the city, he added. "It would only worsen
the city's investment situation, if the projects whose developers
violate regulations are forced to halt temporarily," he said.
He emphasized, however, that the city administration will
continue penalizing those found to have bypassed the permit
processing procedures, he said. (yns/hhr)