Korban Banjir Jakarta Gugat Anis Baswedan disorot Media Asing
As Flood Waters Recede, Jakarta Residents File Lawsuit Against Governor
Editor : Ismail Gani
Translator : Novita Cahyadi
LEBIH DARI 200 warga Jakarta telah mengajukan gugatan terhadap Gubernur DKI Jakarta Anis Baswedan untuk meminta pertanggungjawaban pihak berwenang atas kelambanan Pemprov DKI menangani dampak banjir luar biasa yang belum pernah terjadi selama ini, kata pengacara penggugat.
Sedikitnya 60 orang tewas dan hampir 175.000 orang mengungsi di Indonesia setelah hujan deras mengakibatkan banjir bandang dan tanah longsor di Jakarta dan kota-kota terdekat pada pada 31 Desember dan Hari Tahun Baru.
Gugatan, yang diajukan di Pengadilan Negeri Jakarta pada Senin oleh 243 warga terhadap Gubernur Anies Baswedan, mengatakan pihak berwenang telah gagal untuk mengambil tindakan yang memadai dan meminta kompensasi sebagai ganti rugi sebesar Rp42,3 miliar.
"Orang-orang sangat terpengaruh. Mereka layak mendapatkan kompensasi dan jaminan dari pemerintah bahwa keprihatinan mereka sedang ditangani," kata Alvon Kurnia Palma di Yayasan Lembaga Bantuan Hukum Indonesia YLBHI] yang mewakili penggugat.
"Ini bukan pertama kalinya kami mengajukan gugatan terhadap pemerintah karena banjir, tetapi kali ini kami memiliki bukti yang jelas yang menghubungkan kelalaian Pemprov DKI dengan kerusakan yang ditimbulkan. Orang-orang marah karena tidak ada yang dilakukan," katanya.
Seorang juru bicara Gubernur Baswedan menolak berkomentar pada Selasa.
Dengan salah satu garis pantai terpanjang di dunia, Indonesia sangat rentan terhadap dampak perubahan iklim.
Naiknya permukaan laut dan ketidakmampuan infrastruktur yang ada untuk mengatasi kelebihan air selama musim hujan telah mengakibatkan banjir rutin di Jakarta, yang merupakan rumah bagi lebih dari 10 juta orang.
Meskipun bencana banjir sebelumnya di Jakarta dan banyak data menunjukkan curah hujan yang berlebihan, pihak berwenang gagal memperingatkan penduduk dan lambat dalam menanggapi krisis baru-baru ini, kata Alvon Kurnia Palma kepada Thomson Reuters Foundation yang dilansir MailOnline.
Bagian dari solusi pemerintah pusat untuk banjir Jakarta adalah memindahkan ibukota ke pulau Kalimantan pada 2023.
Rencana untuk meningkatkan pertahanan banjir Jakarta termasuk membangun dua bendungan dan bekerja di sungai terbesar di kota. Presiden RI Joko Widodo menyalahkan banjir karena keterlambatan proyek-proyek ini.
Bukan hanya banjir yang membuat warga Jakarta tidak senang: tahun lalu, sekelompok warga mengajukan gugatan terhadap pihak berwenang karena gagal mengekang polusi udara yang semakin memburuk.
Tuntutan hukum tersebut merupakan tanda meningkatnya frustrasi penduduk dengan tidak adanya tindakan pemerintah, kata Shobhakar Dhakal, seorang profesor di departemen energi, lingkungan dan perubahan iklim di Institut Teknologi Asia di Bangkok.
"Ini adalah cara bagi orang-orang untuk menekan pemerintah untuk bertindak, dan untuk meningkatkan kesadaran tentang masalah ini," katanya.
MORE THAN 200 Jakarta residents have filed a lawsuit against the governor of Indonesia's capital as they seek to hold authorities responsible over their inaction during some of the deadliest flooding in years, a lawyer for the plaintiffs said.
At least 60 people were killed and nearly 175,000 were displaced after some of the heaviest rain since records began caused flash floods and landslides in Jakarta and nearby towns on Dec. 31 and New Year's Day.
The lawsuit, which was filed at a Jakarta district court on Monday by 243 residents against Governor Anies Baswedan, said authorities had failed to take sufficient action and sought 42.3 billion rupiah ($3.1 million) in compensation.
"People have been affected tremendously. They deserve compensation and assurance from the government that their concerns are being addressed," said Alvon Kurnia Palma at the Indonesia Legal Aid Foundation, who is representing plaintiffs.
"This is not the first time we are filing a lawsuit against the government for floods, but this time we have clear evidence linking the government's negligence to the damage caused. People are angry that nothing has been done," he said.
A spokesman for Governor Baswedan did not respond to requests for comment on Tuesday.
With one of the world's longest coastlines, Indonesia is extremely vulnerable to climate-change impacts.
Rising sea levels and the inability of existing infrastructure to cope with excess water during the monsoon season have resulted in regular flooding in Jakarta, which is home to more than 10 million people.
Despite previous flooding disasters in Jakarta and ample data pointing to excessive rainfall, authorities failed to warn residents and were slow in responding to the recent crisis, Palma told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
Part of the central government's solution for Jakarta's floods is to move the capital to the island of Borneo by 2023.
Plans to improve Jakarta's flood defences include building two dams and works on the city's biggest river. President Joko Widodo has blamed the flooding on delays to these projects.
It is not just the floods that Jakarta residents are unhappy about: last year, a group of residents filed a lawsuit against authorities for failing to curb worsening air pollution.
The lawsuits are a sign of the growing frustration of residents with the government's inaction, said Shobhakar Dhakal, a professor in the department of energy, environment and climate change at the Asian Institute of Technology in Bangkok.
"It is a way for people to put pressure on governments to act, and to raise awareness around the issues," he said.
($1 = 13,666.55 Indonesian rupiah)
