Rodziah shows a picture of an unauthorised construction at RPR Kidurong.
BINTULU: Concerned with rampant construction of unauthorised buildings and illegal extensions in town and residential areas, Bintulu Development Authority (BDA) on Wednesday warned it would not hesitate to drag the culprits to court.
BDA general manager Rodziah Morshidi said it was time to take firm action as Bintulu was fast developing.
“Similar to other local councils, we are going to take action against those who flout the Sarawak Building Ordinance 1994.
“Even just a simple awning, if it is constructed without the written approval from the local authority in general terms, is considered an illegal extension,” she told a press conference at Wisma Bintulu yesterday.
She advised all owners of buildings, be they commercial or residential, to take this matter seriously as BDA would go after them even if the illegal extensions were done by the tenants.
“You are the owner of the affected property, so you are liable for the illegal extension.”
Rodziah said the situation had gone out of hand somewhat, with some shophouses extended right to the drain and road reserves.
She also spoke of one terrace house being demolished totally by the owner and a new double-storey terraced house illegally built in its place.
On using Stop Work Order, she said five such orders had been issued but those involved continued to defy the order.
She said BDA would charge the owners in court for failure to comply with these Stop Work Orders, and the penalty upon conviction is a fine of RM200 per day from the day the Stop Work Order was issued.
Rodziah added that BDA would not hesitate to charge assessment rates accordingly even though the extensions were illegal ones.
“If we feel that we have to charge more, BDA will measure the illegally extended portion and charge it to the assessment rate bills. This is allowed under the Local Authority Ordinance 1996.”
“But for now, I think we give time for the people to get their act together.”
Warning that her officers could be conducting site inspections from time to time, she advised those with illegal extension or building unauthorised buildings to talk to BDA to work out solutions.
“We can still discuss. We will tell you whether your extension can be approved, remedied, reconstructed or re-altered.
“But for those that cannot be approved, the illegal extensions will have to be demolished.”