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Study: Power plant causes illnesses
More than 3,000 residents or 90 percent of people living around the Karangkandri coal-fired power plant (PLTU) in Kesugihan district, Cilacap regency, Central Java suffer from respiratory illnesses that can be attributed to dust pollution coming from a nearby power plant
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More than 3,000 residents or 90 percent of people living around the Karangkandri coal-fired power plant (PLTU) in Kesugihan district, Cilacap regency, Central Java suffer from respiratory illnesses that can be attributed to dust pollution coming from a nearby power plant.
Residents from three villages in the vicinity of the plant operator Cilacap PLTU should be held responsible for losses stemming from the health problems.
"It's a serious problem. A survey conducted by a medical team from Greenpeace Southeast Asia shows the severity. We ask that the power plant operator take responsibility for it," Sugriyanto, chairman of People's Aspiration Committee, said Wednesday.
Sugriyanto added that residents have been protesting over the pollution since last year, but their concerns have never been seriously addressed.
He said the residents asked the power plant operator to acquire 5.5 hectares of land around the plant to be re-greened in an effort to balance the dust pollution.
"We also demand the power plant operator relocate 300 households in the nearby Griya Kencana Permai housing complex, which suffered most from the pollution," he said.
Residents have asked the power plant for compensation of Rp 360,000 (US$32.87) for each of the 700 households in the three villages. The money would be used to establish a cooperative and free medical check ups.
Sugriyanto said the residents had repeatedly complained to several government agencies but had not got satisfactory responses.
He said the residents had recently sent a letter to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono about the problem.
"If we do not receive a response from the President, we will hold a massive rally to protest the power plant in the near future. We have been supported by Greenpeace and the Indonesian Forum for Environment," he said.
Separately, the Cilacap steam power plant's technical manager, Sutikno, said the demand for the compensation would be hard to meet as it would increase the company's investment costs.
"If we meet the demand, it will raise investment costs and, then, increase the price of the electricity," he told The Jakarta Post.
"If it happened, people would suffer in a different way. So, it's not that easy to fulfill their demand."
However, he promised that the operator would consider the matter further.
