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Government urged to solve Jakarta pollution as court rejects second appeal
The Supreme Court ruled against another appeal by the government against the ruling in a civil lawsuit that found President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo and his administration guilty of negligence for failing to tackle choking air pollution over Jakarta.
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This aerial view shows the Jakarta skyline on June 24, 2023, shrouded in a blanket of smog. (AFP/Bay Ismoyo)
C
ivil society groups have urged authorities to act seriously in improving Jakarta’s air quality after the Supreme Court rejected the central government’s appeal against a ruling on a citizen lawsuit pertaining to air pollution in the city.
On Nov. 13, the court rejected a cassation petition filed by President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, the environment and forestry minister, home minister and health minister against a ruling issued by the Central Jakarta District Court that found officials in the central and local administrations guilty of negligence for failing to tackle air pollution in the capital.
The ruling means that a panel of justices, presided by Takdir Rahmadi, upheld the district court’s ruling issued following a two-year legal battle over the lawsuit filed by 32 residents of Greater Jakarta in a movement named Koalisi Ibu Kota (Capital City Coalition), the first of its kind in the country.
In 2019, the coalition sued the President, environment minister, health minister, home minister and the governors of Jakarta, Banten and West Java, aiming to hold them accountable for choking air pollution over the capital. The plaintiffs demanded the defendants implement regulations to improve air quality in Jakarta.
Responding to the district court’s ruling in 2021, officials of the central government filed an appeal with the Jakarta High Court, arguing the district court judges failed to take into account new regulations pertaining to air quality. The Jakarta administration, at the time led by then governor Anies Baswedan, decided not to appeal the ruling.
The high court ruled against the appeal in October of last year.
Jakarta Legal Aid Institute (LBH Jakarta) director Citra Referandum, who also served as the coalition’s legal representative, welcomed the Supreme Court’s ruling against the government’s cassation petition, which she described as an effort to evade responsibility to provide clean air for the residents of Jakarta.
