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Choked by Jakarta smog, residents join forces to sue govt for better air quality
LBH Jakarta attorney Ayu Eza Tiara said the lawsuit would be addressed to the President, the Environment and Forestry Minister and the governors of Jakarta, Banten and West Java provinces. They plan to submit the lawsuit on June 18.
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Hardly visible: Smog blankets Jakarta’s skyscrapers in this file photo. Air pollution in the city is among the worst in the world. (The Jakarta Post/Wendra Ajistyatama )
F
ed up with being choked by polluted air in Jakarta, 57 people have joined forces to sue the government over poor air quality in the capital.
Grouped under the Capital Advocacy Team and represented by the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute (LBH Jakarta), the residents are set to file a citizen lawsuit against the government to the Central Jakarta District Court.
LBH Jakarta attorney Ayu Eza Tiara said the lawsuit would be addressed to the President, the Environment and Forestry Minister and the governors of Jakarta, Banten and West Java provinces. They plan to submit the lawsuit on June 18.
“Of the 57 plaintiff candidates, 20 are environmentalists who were already involved when the [citizen lawsuit] was planned and 37 are civilians of various backgrounds,” Ayu said on Sunday.
The 37 people include students, teachers, employees of private companies, businesspeople, lawyers, researchers, civil servants, app-based motorcycle taxi drivers and senior citizens. All of them registered themselves to the complaint center set up for a month in April by LBH Jakarta to prepare the lawsuit.
Through the team, Ayu added, they would like to push the government to take action to address air pollution by creating stricter policies that have a significant impact on reducing air pollution in the capital.
Greenpeace Indonesia climate and energy campaigner Bondan Andriyanu said the government had been using the 1999 regulation on air pollution in issuing policies related to the matter.
