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)