Regency demolished nine Puncak villas

BOGOR, West Java (JP): The Bogor regency authority demolished Friday nine luxury villas built without permits in the Puncak hill resort, Antara reported.

The nine villas, all located in Tugu Selatan village, Cisarua subdistrict, were estimated to be worth Rp 5 billion (US$2.1 million).

The head of Bogor's inspectorate office, Fauzi Si'in, who led the demolition team, said the buildings were torn down because the owners had ignored three official orders to demolish the properties.

The villas are illegal because they were built in an area earmarked for conservation purposes and as a catchment.

Friday's demolition brought the total number of Puncak villas bulldozed in the last five months to 40, Antara said.

Bogor regency says there are around 500 buildings, including luxury villas, that do not have permits.

"We urge owners of other buildings and villas to voluntarily demolish their properties. If the (administration) team does it, then there will be nothing left of the buildings," Fauzi said, Antara reported.

The Bogor regency administration finally started clamping down on illegal properties in Puncak, many of which are owned by wealthy and politically powerful people in Jakarta, after receiving the green light this year from President Soeharto.

The failure to control the growth of property in Puncak has been blamed for the massive and destructive floods which swept Jakarta in February.

As of July, the Bogor regency has reclaimed and cleared around 100 hectares of land.

Bisnis Indonesia daily reported on Saturday that many of the remaining illegal villas that have not been demolished are owned by high-ranking officials in Jakarta, apparently because the Bogor administration was still waiting for clearance.

Fauzi said that all illegal property in Puncak will, eventually, be demolished. He said the delays were because the administration has other priorities. (26)