RP 1b dream home crushed by bulldozer
RP 1b dream home crushed by bulldozer
JAKARTA (JP): If you're going to build the house of your dreams, just remember that you're going to need two things: Money and a permit.
Mrs. Aminah Toric found out the hard way last Thursday that having one without the other could spell disaster, even after construction is finished.
Bogor city's administration demolished her house that sat on 2,000-square meters of land on Jl. Terusan Bukit Tunggul in North Bogor and was valued at approximately Rp 1 billion (US$454,545).
The house was built without the necessary permit and despite the intervention of the West Java State Administrative Court, her home was bulldozed on Thursday under the instructions of Bogor's mayor, H. Eddi Gunardi.
The demolition of the house actually began on Jan. 19 but was postponed following a 60-day cancellation call issued by the West Java court.
The mayor, however, instructed his subordinates to continue demolition and ignored the court's decision on the grounds that their call wasn't "fair", Antara reported.
"Studying the call from various legal standpoints, and to uphold the city administration's authority, I decided that the demolition had to go on," the mayor said.
He explained that the court's decision was one sided because they didn't hear statements from the Bogor administration. He added that the court only received information from Aminah and that no hearing with city authorities was held, which is standard procedure.
"The house was built without a permit from city authorities. Moreover, the land on which the house was built had already been earmarked for the construction of a new road in line with city planning," he said.
The city administration's initial decision to begin demolition faced a number of obstacles when Aminah promised to demolish it herself.
Aminah continued to ignore the demolition order and then proceeded to lobby the court instead.
"The house owner's request for help from the court succeeded, but the court's decision will not affect the city administration's decision to demolish the house," the mayor said. (25)