Jepara Regency Government Allocates Rp. 5.21 Billion For Places Of Worship

JAKARTA - The Government of Jepara Regency, Central Java, has prepared a budget of IDR 5.21 billion for a grant aid program for places of worship in the local area.

"A total of 101 places of worship have received assistance, including 34 mosques, 65 prayer rooms and two churches," said the Head of the Public Welfare (Kesra) Section of the Regional Secretariat of Jepara Regency, Agus Bambang Lelono, in Jepara, as reported by Antara, Friday, April 23.

The Rp5.21 billion budget, he said, comes from the 2021 Jepara Regional Budget (APBD). The distribution of aid can only begin now, after previously adjusting the transfer budget and refocusing on handling COVID-19.

Assistant I of the Jepara Regional Secretary Dwi Riyanto added that the government is paying more attention to the activities of places of worship in Jepara Regency. This grant is in order to support program targets based on the principles of justice and benefit to the wider community.

Grant assistance is implemented annually with the target that it is spread across all districts, while the amount is adjusted to the financial capacity of the region.

For 2019, the Jepara Regency Government allocated a grant for places of worship of IDR 8,460 billion, then the impact of the pandemic in 2020 fell to IDR 6,476 billion for 145 places of worship.

Meanwhile, in 2021, Rp. 10,427 billion was originally allocated for 238 places of worship, due to a pandemic, only Rp. 5.213 billion was realized for 101 places of worship.

"Hopefully in 2022, the number of recipients of aid for places of worship can continue to grow," he said.