SURABAYA, East Java: Members of the group Environmental Watch in Surabaya filed a lawsuit against East Java Governor Imam Utomo on Thursday.
The suit seeks to hold the governor responsible for the high level of pollution in Surabaya River.
Lawyers from the Surabaya Legal Aid Foundation are representing the environmental group in the suit.
Director of the legal foundation, Syaiful Aris, said the governor should be held responsible for pollution in the river.
He said independent analysis had found the level of contaminants in the river far exceeded acceptable limits.
"Before we filed the lawsuit with the Surabaya court, we twice sent legal reprimands to the governor, but he never responded," said Aris.
He said the East Java Environmental Impact Management Agency (Bapedalda) was also named in the lawsuit.
Surabaya River is one of the main sources of water for residents of the city.
Director of Ecological Observation and Wetland Conservation (ECOTON), Prigi Arisandi, said the Surabaya River had been polluted by industrial waste since 1999.
He said there had been instances over the years of hundreds of fish washing up dead in the river, but the administration had never taken steps to deal with the pollution.
"Despite the pollution, a large number of Surabaya's residents still depend on the river for their drinking water," he said.
He said the administration had failed to supervise and monitor the numerous factories along the river.
ECOTON investigations have found that at least 80 percent of the factories are not equipped with proper waste treatment facilities.--JP
No comments:
Post a Comment