TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The lawyer of activists who filed a civil lawsuit on Jakarta’s air pollution, Nelson Nikodemus Simamora, said that the city administration neither has a plan nor strategy to deal with the severe air quality. While in fact, he added, around 10 million people in the city breathe polluted air every day.

“Just imagine that the metropolitan has no action plan. It must be set,” Nelson said after the prehearing in Central Jakarta District Court, Thursday, August 1.

He also doubted that the government does not have data related to the causes of severe air pollution in the capital considering the air quality keeps worsening prior to this dry season. “Just watch it; it (the air pollution) is getting worse, people easily get sick,” he added.

According to the website of air quality forecaster, AirVisual, today, Jakarta’s air is still highly polluted. The worst air quality is in Mangga Dua Selatan as it scored 168 with PM2.5 parameters and 89 ug/m3. The figure is higher than the average score of Jakarta’s air quality at 161 with PM2.5 parameters and 75.4 ug/m3.

Therefore, Nelson demanded the provincial government realize recommendations from NGOs and organization overseeing environmental issue to install more air quality monitoring system to acknowledge sources of pollution.

He mentioned that the inputs were submitted during a public discussion in the city hall on Wednesday, July 17, initiated by Jakarta governor assistant for development and the environment Yusmada Faisal.

On July 4, a group of 31 activists filed a civil lawsuit addressing to the President, Environment and Forestry Minister, Health Minister, Home Affairs Minister, Jakarta Governor, West Java Governor, and Banten Governor. They demanded rights to get clean air.

LANI DIANA WIJAYA