PAM Water Managed By Palyja Leaks Up To 48 Percent, Special Committee Of DKI DPRD: Unfair, Residents Pay For Water Not Reaching Their Homes

Workers fill clean water sourced from PAM Jaya into jerry cans for sale in the Muara Angke area, Jakarta, Monday July 2019. (ANTARA-Aprillio A)

JAKARTA - The Special Committee (Pansus) for Drinking Water Management of the DKI Jakarta DPRD paid a visit to the office of PT PAM Lyonnaise Jaya (Palyja), Tuesday, August 2 yesterday.

This special committee was formed to explore the problem of drinking water distribution which is managed by PAM Jaya together with private partners, namely Palyja and Aetra.

From the visit, it was revealed that there was a pipe leak managed by Palyja up to 48.76 percent. According to the Head of the Special Committee for Drinking Water Management of the DKI DPRD from the PDIP faction, Pandapotan Sinaga, the loss of clean water distributed to residents is quite high.

"We visited to see the physical first, especially since this building has been around since 1953. I think the problem is because the pipes have been rusted for decades, that's what makes the distribution less," said Pandapotan in a written statement, Wednesday, August 3.

Pandapotan revealed that the high leakage occurred due to worn pipes and Palyja's lack of maintenance, causing the distribution of water to the community to be not optimal.

Similarly, member of the Special Committee for Drinking Water Management of the DKI DPRD, Panji Virgianto, regretted that Palyja did not immediately fix the leak that had occurred for years. Given, it was revealed in 2015 that the leakage had reached 39.3 percent and continues to increase until now.

“Not because of leakage, the people are charged with the assumption of paying the increase. This is detrimental to society," he said.

In fact, during the recess to meet the community, Panji admitted that he always received complaints from residents regarding the small amount of clean water that flows into people's homes, while payments tend to increase every year.

“The leak has an impact on the cubication price charged to the public. It's not fair. They pay, even though the water doesn't reach their house," said Panji.

For information, DPRD formed a Special Committee for Drinking Water Management. The special committee members from these various factions consisted of Gembong Warsono, Pandapotan Sinaga, Panji Virgianto, Manuara Siahaan, Wa Ode Herlina, Rasyidi, Inggad Joshua, Nurhasan, Andyka, Esti Arimi Putri, Wahyu Dewanto, Abdurrahman Suhaimi, Taufik Zoelkifli, Muhayar, Achmad Yani. , Neneng Hasanah, Faisal, Habib Muhammad, Lukmanul, Anthony Winza, Eneng Malianasari, Wibi Andrino, Muhammad Idris, Judistira, and Jamaluddin Lamanda.

In addition to exploring various problems regarding clean water distribution, the Drinking Water Management Special Committee will examine PAM Jaya's readiness to fully manage clean water prior to the termination of the water management cooperation contract with the private sector or water privatization in January 2023.