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Wed, 24 Dec 2003

JP/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.