Families demand compensation from PLN
BOGOR (JP): About 180 families in two villages here have vowed to force state-owned electricity firm PT PLN to provide them with proper compensation to move from under high-voltage electric cables running above their houses.
Family representatives Abdul Madjid of Malang Nengah and Hartono of Jampang told The Jakarta Post Tuesday evening that there was an urgent need to move from the area because residents feared to live under such risky conditions.
"Our life here has been haunted every day by fears of the health consequences of the electricity currents," said Madjid.
Therefore, he said, the 100 families of Malang Nengah village and the 80 from Jampang had decided to leave immediately after they received fair compensation from PLN.
According to Madjid, the villagers set a compensation price for their land and buildings for PLN a year ago, but PLN had yet to respond suitably.
"We are still asking PLN to pay a compensation of Rp 75,000 (US$9.50) per square meter of land, Rp 500,000 per square meter for permanent buildings and Rp 400,000 per square meter for semi- permanent buildings," said Madjid.
The 500 kilovolt cables running over several villages in the area have reportedly transmitted electricity currents to antennas, roof-tiles and bamboo drying posts throughout the villages.
"That's why none of us here dare to have television antennas, for example, installed on our roofs," said Madjid.
The residents have tried to get PLN to address the problem since December 1996. But the company has ignored their requests, saying that living under high-voltage cables is not dangerous, as stated by a 1992 regulation issued by the Ministry of Mines and Energy, said Madjid.
After receiving PLN's reply, the local residents staged a protest on Jan. 6 and Jan. 7 in 1997 by staging a sit-in on Jl. Ciseeng Raya, causing serious traffic congestion.
The sit-in protest was repeated by about 50 residents in a breaking of the fast gathering Monday.
During the meeting which was attended by their lawyers from LBH Nusantara Jakarta, the residents recalled their efforts to have PLN meet their demands, including addressing the issue to the West Java legislative council, Bandung's Institute of Technology (ITB) in Bandung, the House of Representatives, the Ministry of Mines and Energy and the WHO representative office in Jakarta.
According to one of their lawyers, Adian Napitupulu, PLN also once quoted WHO, the Ministry of Health and ITB as saying that there was no danger from living under such high-voltage cables.
"The three institutions, however, at once revealed the pertinent statements which were contradictory to what PLN had quoted," said Adian.
To clarify the issue, a team of students from various universities would take part in a three month study on the areas starting this month to find out the cables' social, economic and environmental impacts, he said. (bsr/24)