Court delays verdict on water price hike
Court delays verdict on water price hike
M. Taufiqurrahman, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The Central Jakarta District Court once again postponed the
handing down of a much-awaited verdict in a class action filed by
tap water consumers, this time because the presiding judge is on
leave until the end of the month.
"Presiding Judge Andriani Nurdin is on leave and therefore
cannot chair the hearing. The trial must once again be
adjourned," said judicial panel member Soeripto upon opening the
hearing on Tuesday.
Last week, the hearing was adjourned because the presiding
judge, who replaced Andi Samsan Nganro, still had to read up on
the case before arriving at a decision. Andi Samsan has been
promoted to head the Cibinong District Court in West Java.
The judge then set the next hearing for Jan. 15.
The class action has been filed by the Jakarta Tap Water
Consumers' Community (Komparta) against the city administration
and the City Council for their decision to hike tap water rates
earlier this year.
The delay dismayed the plaintiff's lawyers and a number of
Komparta supporters who had been waiting for what they said was
`the moment of truth' for tap water consumers in the city.
"This is the fourth delay ... We suspect the judge is trying
to buy time so that the city administration's plan to impose
another rate increase next year will go unchallenged," Komparta
spokesman Hans Suta Widya said after the hearing.
The city administration is expected to raise tap water rates
by 30 percent in January to accommodate the demands of the two
foreign partners of the city water utility, PT Thames Pam Jaya
(TPJ) and PT Pam Lyonnaisse Jaya (Palyja). The City Council has
given its tacit approval to the plan.
Suta said that should the court deliver a verdict in favor of
Komparta in December, it could spur resistance from consumers
against the next water price hike.
Claiming it represented about 200,000 water consumers,
Komparta filed its lawsuit late in March, demanding that the city
administration overturn its 30 percent water charge increase.