Jakarta, ABIM (25/7/2023) – The Directorate General of Cipta Karya, a division of the Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing (PUPR), keeps working to raise the standard of slum settlements in Indonesia. The Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing is organizing basic settlement infrastructure and facilities that support community productivity through the “Kota Tanpa Kumuh” (KOTAKU) program. In accordance with the 2020–2024 National Medium Term Development Plan (RPJMN), which aims to reduce slum areas to 0%, slum areas will also be reduced.
According to PUPR Minister Basuki Hadimuljono, the KOTAKU Program is a way for the PUPR Ministry, Regional Governments, and other relevant stakeholders to work together to encourage and empower communities to participate as development actors. The community is completely involved in all aspects of planning, implementing out, utilizing, and monitoring. This empowerment scheme is typically used for small-scale infrastructure projects or simple, non-technological jobs.
“The arrangement of slum areas like this is carried out not only in settlements along river banks, but also in other places such as settlements near garbage dumps or densely populated villages in urban areas,” Minister Basuki explained.
The KOTAKU program, which covers both community-based activities and regional scale infrastructure, improves access to urban infrastructure and services in slum settlements through the reconstruction and strengthening of public facilities to support the realization of livable, productive, and sustainable urban settlements, continued Director of Residential Area Development, Directorate General of Cipta Karya J. Wahyu Kusumosusanto.
“Infrastructure support and investment services are classified according to regional and environmental scales. This includes assistance in the development of a road network, a waste water management network, a drainage network, a waste management network, a drinking water pipeline network, and a fire handling network,” Wahyu stated.
Based on the 2015-2019 RPJMN target, the achievement of reducing slum areas was 32,221 Ha (84%) of the target of 38,431 Ha. The remaining 6,209 Ha (16%) has not been handled due to several things such as the slum area being in an illegal location, requiring a more complex handling pattern, and requiring social safeguards so that it takes longer time.
“In addition to our contribution to the 2015-2019 RPJMN, the reduction of slum areas by the end of 2022 has reached 6,872 Ha (69%) of the target of 10,000 Ha, based on the 2020-2024 RPJMN target.” So, until the end of 2024, there is still a shortfall of 3,128 hectares (31%),” Wahyu explained.
Investment activities comprising 91 area-scale activities and 61,921 environmental-scale activities have been handed over to local governments and communities in all places throughout Indonesia, including 11,332 Kelurahan/Villages in 330 Regencies/Cities in 34 provinces. Several activities have also been turned into tourism destinations, which have a direct impact on the economy of the local community.
“In the continuation of handling this slum area, the role of the Regional Government as skipper, as well as collaborators with stakeholders is very important. Then, it is integrated with the city development planning system and implemented collaboratively by involving community participation. So that the hope is that urban settlements that are livable, productive and sustainable can be realized,” Wahyu concluded.(ABIM)
