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.
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