The problem is not the excavation, but the governance

Utility excavation can basically be justified if it meets permits, technical standards, schedules, safety, traffic regulation, and road restoration. The problem is that in Jakarta, excavations too often look like stand-alone projects: today one agency digs, next month another operator opens the same section, then the marks are covered in a makeshift manner. The DKI Jakarta Provincial Government itself has admitted that there are many utility network excavations that cause congestion, including excavations without permits, misused permits, and poor reinstatement or repair of post-excavation roads. This is an important admission, the root of the problem is not just impatient residents, but supervision that is not hard enough.

Residents' Rights: Roads Are Not the Project's Backyard

From a legal perspective, roads are not empty spaces that can be used as they please. Roads are public infrastructure. They have traffic, safety, economic access and basic service functions. The Road Traffic and Transportation Law prohibits actions that cause damage or disruption of road functions, and prohibits interference with the function of road equipment. Perma 2/2019 regulates the guidelines for resolving government action disputes and the authority of the PTUN in PMHP cases, the focus of the responsibility is to request clarity and acceleration of the time for completing road works along with compensation that can be received by road users if the complaint mechanism to the relevant officials is ignored, thus it can be categorized as a unlawful act by the Government (PMHP).[2]