Indonesia president found negligent over Jakarta filthy air

An Indonesian court has found President Joko Widodo and other top officials guilty of negligence in tackling air pollution in and around Jakarta.

In a landmark ruling, the court ordered monitoring stations and other measures to improve air quality in the capital.

The lawsuit was filed by Jakarta residents in 2019, the same year an air quality monitor ranked it the worst air-polluted city in the world.

The air pollution verdict has since been postponed eight times.

Jakarta, home to around 10 million people, is the largest city in Indonesia.

The legal action had been filed against President Widodo, the Ministry of Forestry and Environment and the Governor of Jakarta amongst others, by 32 Jakarta residents who argued that the health of those in the city was badly affected by air pollution.

The district court has instructed Mr Widodo to improve the national standard of air quality, adding that the provincial government must conduct checks like periodical emission tests for older vehicles in Jakarta and outdoor air quality tests.

This information must be made public, the court said.