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Coalition opposing Jakarta water privatization wins appeal
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A worker controls the quality of raw water at a treatment facility owned by private tap water company PT Palyja in Central Jakarta. (JP/Dhoni Setiawan)
T
he Supreme Court on Tuesday approved a cassation appeal filed by the Coalition of Jakarta Residents Opposing Water Privatization (KMMSAJ) and annulled a verdict issued by the Jakarta High Court relating to cooperation between city-owned water operator PAM Jaya and two private companies.
“Yes, we won the cassation after we filed the appeal last year,” said the coalition’s lawyer, Matthew Michele Lenggu, on Tuesday.
In 2013, the coalition filed a lawsuit against the city administration demanding that the court annul a 1997 agreement between PAM Jaya and PT PAM Lyonnaise Jaya (Palyja) and PT Aetra Air Jakarta (Aetra). The deal will end in 2023.
The coalition claimed that the agreement had failed to guarantee an adequate supply of clean, potable water in Jakarta.
In 2015, a panel of judges at the Central Jakarta District Court approved the lawsuit, saying that the defendants had been negligent in fulfilling the Jakarta residents’ rights to water and they also breached the law by handing over the water operation in Jakarta to private firms.
However, a year later, the private firms filed an appeal against the Central Jakarta District Court’s decision and won.
