Rights body defends power project victims
JAKARTA (JP): The National Commission on Human Rights is urging the state-owned electricity company PLN to provide compensation for East Java residents forced to leave their homes to make way for a high voltage cable project.
Eleven people representing 80 families from the Singosari village in Gresik referred their plight to the commission on Monday to press their demand for reasonable compensation for their homes.
The delegates asked the commission to help them find a solution to their problem after their numerous efforts had ended in failure.
The commission's secretary general Baharuddin Lopa assured the villagers they deserved compensation from the government.
"We want PLN to either pay reasonable compensation or resettle us," spokesman for the delegation Suparman said.
He said the local residents have already gone, in vain, through all possible avenues in their efforts to get compensation for their homes, including referring their plight to the East Java governor and the provincial legislative office.
Suparman said 82 affected families are living in tents set up only several dozen meters from the dangerous cables.
They showed data from the ministry of health which confirmed that research in some European countries indicated that high voltage cables could lead to headaches, insomnia and other illnesses.
The ministry also suggested that residents could develop cancer because of the high-voltage cables.
Suparman also asked the commission to visit the Singosari village to get a clear picture of the real conditions.
Lopa promised the villagers the commission would bring their plight to the attention of the related government agencies. He said the commission liked to make sure that any development activities, like this power cable project, did not pose any danger to the people, like the power cable project.
The Singosari residents filed a lawsuit against the government and the PLN at the Central Jakarta District Court earlier this year. They are suing the government for Rp 4 billion (US$1.8 million) compensation for causing psychological damage and Rp 69.7 million for material losses.
The residents' lawsuit is still in progress, with the court currently hearing the witnesses' testimonies.
PLN's president Zuhal had stated earlier in 1992 that the state company would not appropriate the land beneath the high- voltage cables. He said the policy was in line with the regulations on electricity installation issued in the same year.
A similar complaint occurred in Tangerang, an area bordering Jakarta, in 1991 when residents of the Ciledug Indah housing complex protested against PLN's plan to erect 500 kilovolt cables over their houses.
The electricity company eventually backed down on the plan because of the controversy. (imn)