Residents told to discuss pollution with companies
Residents told to discuss pollution with companies
JAKARTA (JP): The North Jakarta District Court told Serang
residents yesterday to speak directly to the West Java
administration and the five companies that are polluting the
Ciujung river.
Some 5,000 residents of Serang, West Java, have filed a
lawsuit against five factories -- PT Indah Kiat Pulp and Paper,
PT Cipta Paperia, PT Onward Paper Utama, PT Sekawan Maju Pesat
and PT Picon Jaya -- for allegedly polluting the Ciujung river
with unprocessed industrial waste.
The five factories, located in Serang, have their head offices
in North Jakarta.
The residents, represented by 17 people in th lawsuit, also
sued the West Java administration for failure to supervise the
environment.
West Java administration representatives were not present
during yesterday's court session.
Presiding Judge Adi Nugraha adjourned the trial until
Wednesday to give the residents and the six defendants a chance
to settle the dispute out of court.
Jakarta branch lawyers from the Legal Aid Institute
representing the plaintiffs said that they have tried to talk to
executives from the five factories.
Earlier this year the institute invited factory executives
from all five companies to a meeting. Executives of PT Cipta
Paperia, PT Sekawan Maju Pesat and PT Picon Jaya responded to the
invitation, but PT Indah Kiat and PT Onward Paper Utama did not
send any officials to the meeting.
During the meeting, executives from three of the factories
acknowledged that they had dumped their industrial waste into the
Ciujung river and vowed that they would soon install waste
treatment plants, said I Made Wahyu, a lawyer for one of the
plaintiffs.
"So far, however, no waste treatment plants have been
installed by any of the companies," Wahyu said, adding that the
factories continue to dump their industrial waste in the river.
The residents are seeking a court order to force the five
companies to conduct an environmental audit as required by the
1991 law on the environment.
Seeking Rp 18.7 billion ($8.5 million) in material and
immaterial losses, the residents say they have been deprived of
their right to live in a healthy environment with clean water.
The plaintiffs also asked the court to order the West Java
administration to set up an environmental monitoring team in the
Serang regency, comprised of representatives from the local
administration, non-governmental organizations, companies and
local public figures. (29)