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)