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Jakarta orders PAM Jaya to provide piped-water to low-cost apartments
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A tenant inspects a gas meter at the Marunda low-cost apartment complex in North Jakarta on Dec. 23. (Antara/Wahyu Putro A)
T
he Jakarta administration has asked city-owned water operator PD PAM Jaya to install piped-water to low-cost apartments, locally known as rusun, across the capital.
City Secretary Saefullah said on Tuesday he had asked PAM Jaya to provide piped-water services to low-cost apartments, most of which had no access to piped-water.
Saefullah said by using piped-water, PAM Jaya could charge water rates at a uniform price across the city.
“As the sources of water vary, the utility rates also vary,” he said as quoted by Antara.
Saefullah said, furthermore, that the city would soon draft a gubernatorial regulation restricting the use of water in low-cost apartments.
“We want to stop residents from wasting water, let alone commercializing the source,” he said, adding that residents were not allowed to use more than 10 cubic meters per month.
Utility rates became a source of public debate after residents at the Rawa Bebek low-cost apartment complex in East Jakarta objected to the claim from Jakarta Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama that water utilities in low-cost apartments were subsidized.
While the city set the utility rate for low-income families at Rp 1,575 per cubic meter, the tenants of many low-cost apartments pay Rp 5,500 per cubic meter.
PAM Jaya claims that the difference is because not all apartments are connected to piped-water. (cor)
