Bogor tears down villas without permits

Written by Writer on Saturday, October 25th, 2008

Bogor tears down villas without permits

Theresia Sufa , The Jakarta Post , Bogor | Fri, 10/24/2008 1:06 PM | City

Nine villas without permits erected in Kopo village in Cisarua, part of the Puncak resort in Bogor regency, were demolished Thursday.

A joint team of public-order officers, police and military soldiers bulldozed seven buildings (see photo). The owners of the other two villas dismantled the buildings themselves.

The demolition was based on a court order, public-order officer Commander Sukanto Bedjo said.

Cibinong District Court on Feb. 20 ruled the villa owners guilty of building on state land without the required construction permits.

“We have followed procedure by sending the owners three warrants. They even signed an agreement to dismantle the premises themselves by Oct. 10, but none have,” Sukanto said.

Villa owner Novel Ali Situmorang said he did not mind the demolition of his 10-year-old property. “I’ll arrange for the permits…. I can have it rebuilt in a month.”

An official at the spatial planning agency, E. Wardhani, said permits would be issued selectively since the villas were built on a former tea plantation.

“Only those who hold the title or the rights to utilize the land and any buildings on it can obtain a permit to build,” she said.

The agency has records listing 2,000 villas without permits out of the 5,000 villas built in the resort area.