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evelopers will soon find it easier to apply for building permits as the Jakarta Construction Supervision and Regulation Agency (P2B) is developing an online system application procedure, in a bid to curb the epidemic of building permit violations that are now evenly distributed in the city'€™s five municipalities, says agency head I Putu Ngurah Indiana.

Developers and building owners are reluctant to apply for a building permit properly, citing the difficult, slow process they have to go through.

This, Ngurah said, had resulted in violations ranging from the lack a permit entirely of to misappropriation of permits, and applies to all kinds of buildings from offices to houses.

'€œMany householders violate permits by changing the function of their homes into restaurants, boutiques, private schools etc., while owners of office buildings violate permits by adding more floors than permitted,'€ Ngurah said recently.

'€œWith the online system, citizens only have to upload all the required documents and agency staff will verify them. We will issue them a permit if they are eligible,'€ he said.

The system is due to come online later this year.

According to the agency'€™s January-April report, over 950 warning letters have been sent to building owners, over 800 buildings have been sealed and 51 demolished in Jakarta, with some cases not yet to be included in the report.

Ngurah said the agency will demolish all buildings violating permits if the owners failed to take note of the agency'€™s first and second warnings.

The agency is now moving '€œaggressively'€ to seal and demolish all buildings with irregular documentation as a shock tactic to owners and people around the neighborhood.

Among the buildings that have been sealed are two office buildings on Jl. Gajah Mada and on Jl. Tanah Abang 2, both still under construction and both in Central Jakarta. Construction at the sites was stopped in March.

However, construction continues at a house on Jl. Tawakkal Raya, West Jakarta, which the agency claims it has sealed.

A construction workers at the house said no warning letter had been sent to the address by the agency. Neither was there any notice at the site as by the agency declaring the property sealed, as is standard practice.

Agency staff member Syahruddin said the owner of the house was building a four-story house while the permit only allowed for two.

Trisakti University urban planner Nirwono Yoga applauded the agency'€™s development of the online system, which he said should provide transparency and make things easier for applicants, helping to reduce bribery.

Nirwono believes it is important for the agency to let people know which parts of the city are still open to new construction works in accordance with the 2030 Jakarta spatial planning. (hrl)