Unlawful demolition of city property to be investigated
Unlawful demolition of city property to be investigated
JAKARTA (JP): The city administration said yesterday it will
investigate reports of unlawful demolition of city property,
including school buildings, by the developer of the Taman Rasuna
apartment complex in Kuningan, South Jakarta.
"I regret the fact that school children should suffer because
of the demolition, and we will raise the matter with the related
city administration officials," Idroes, deputy governor on
government affairs, told reporters yesterday.
He said the company should have contacted the city education
office and other related city offices before demolishing the
buildings.
"I have checked with the officials and they told me that they
are still processing the permit," he said, adding that he has
instructed the city education office to transfer the school
children to the nearest schools in the area as soon as possible.
He also said that he had summoned the management of PT Catur
Swasakti Utama (CSU), a subsidiary of the widely diversified
Bakrie Group and the developer of the complex, to his office
yesterday for further explanation on the matter.
City councilors on Tuesday queried the decision of CSU
to demolish two city properties for the construction of its 17
apartment blocks.
"The land agreement between CSU and the city has not been
finalized yet but they have already demolished the buildings
without the city's approval," said councilor Soegijo, chairman of
Commission E which oversees social welfare.
Soegijo said that CSU pulled down a primary school building
and an unoccupied shelter owned by the city administration. The
shelter was built on 6,000 square meters of land, while the
school accommodated 150 pupils and was built on 2,215 square
meters.
The Chief of City Education Office, Soeparmo, refused to
comment on the estimated price of the land on which the
demolished school building was located.
Kurniasih, the school headmistress, said that the building was
demolished by CSU on Aug. 11, but two weeks before the demolition
she had moved all of her pupils to a new school building near the
work site provided by CSU.
Dilapidated
However, the president of the company, Hamizar Hamid, told The
Jakarta Post on Tuesday night that the reason why the company
demolished the two buildings was because they were totally
unkempt and dilapidated. He claimed that the physical condition
of the buildings was such that they "might have tumbled down
anytime."
The development of Taman Rasuna apartments, which will have
over 3,800 units, was scheduled to begin late last month, with
the first tower expected to be completed by August 1996.
During the visit, Soegijo and other councilors also questioned
the company's commitment to the health of the pupils because
thick dust and loud noise from the project could affect their
health.
Kurniasih acknowledged that the project produced thick dust
and noise, "But so far no single pupil has been affected,"
Soegijo told Kurniasih that the dust and noise could pose a
serious health problem to the children and offered to transfer
her pupils to two schools located nearby which have fewer
students and safer surroundings.
Soegijo pledged that he will soon summons CSU's management to
present their accountability for the demolished buildings.
Soeparmo said that he has reported the matter to governor
Surjadi Soedirdja.
Soegijo said that city councilors will further investigate
allegations that CSU has demolished other city buildings and
public facilities without its approval.(03)