The Denpasar State Administrative Court (PTUN) has rejected a lawsuit challenging the controversial plan for the expansion of the Celukan Bawang coal-fired power plant in Buleleng, a regency of Bali best known for dolphin tourism
he Denpasar State Administrative Court (PTUN) has rejected a lawsuit challenging the controversial plan for the expansion of the Celukan Bawang coal-fired power plant in Buleleng, a regency of Bali best known for dolphin tourism.
In a ruling that dashed the hopes of local residents and activists wanting to stop the expansion, the court declared on Thursday that the expansion plan posed no threat to the environment, nor did it put at risk the livelihoods of local farmers and fishermen.
The petition had been filed by three residents and Greenpeace Indonesia to challenge the Bali governor’s decision to grant the permits for the expansion of the power plant, arguing that the expansion would threaten the ecosystem. The three-judge panel said that the plaintiffs’ arguments were based on assumptions and not on scientific evidence or arguments from experts.
Several environmental groups had filed an amicus curiae brief (a brief filed by someone who is not a party to a case), but to no avail.
The plaintiffs’ lawyer, Wayan “Gendo” Suardana, said the ruling was unjust. “There was no sense of justice there. [The judges] only considered the testimony of witnesses presented by the defendant; they also didn’t conduct an on-site examination,” he said.
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