Residents complain of illegal houses

TANGERANG: Hundreds of residents from Batusari subdistrict, Tangerang, have complained about dozens of illegal houses on Jl. Garuda which are used by their owners to store junk.

Community unit 06 chief Mad Ali said on Friday that the houses were illegally built mainly by new migrants from Java and Sumatra on land belonging to PT Perum Angkasa Pura (PAP), the managers of the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport.

The Jakarta Post's visited Jl. Garuda and saw about 30 fenced houses with scrap iron, plastic materials and solid industrial waste stored behind large fences.

"What really causes disturbances to residents is not the building's presence, but the activity of trucks belonging to the municipal resettlement and infrastructure agency as they come and go to transport the junk materials to and from the houses," Ali said.

Residents had repeatedly filed complaints with subdistrict chief Soemitro and district chief Yusuf Hamdani but to no avail.

"PT PAP had also repeatedly warned the owners but they have ignored the warnings. It is no wonder that residents alleged the presence of those migrants is backed up by administration officials," he said.

The secretary of the district community empowerment body communication forum, Burhanuddin, said the junk heaps caused unhealthy air circulation in addition to spoiling views. --JP