Realize Zero Percent Extreme Poverty, Ministry Of PUPR Accelerates Handling Of Kumuh Areas In Belawan Medan

Illustration (Photo: Doc. Ministry of PUPR)

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing (PUPR) through the Regional Infrastructure Development Agency (BPIW) is committed to accelerating the handling of urban slum areas in the Belawan area, Medan City, North Sumatra.

Head of BPIW of the Ministry of PUPR, Rachman Arief Dienaputra, said that the condition of the residential environment in the area was not feasible, and the location was between the mouths of the Belawan and Deli rivers, so it was prone to tidal flooding.

"This is a form of PUPR infrastructure intervention in the pockets of extreme poverty that the government has targeted in 2024 to achieve zero percent of extreme poverty," Arief told reporters, Thursday, January 12.

Therefore, the Ministry of PUPR through BPIW has prepared a master plan for the arrangement of the Belawan Area which is integrated by synergizing the handling of Uninhabitable Houses (RTLH) by the Directorate General (Ditjen) of Housing.

Then, the provision of basic infrastructure (clean water, sanitation, drainage, environmental roads) by the Directorate General of Human Settlements.

In its implementation, said Arief, the Directorate General of Water Resources will also be involved in handling raw irrigation and so on.

"The master plan has been followed up with the preparation of a detailed plan for regional arrangement by the Directorate General of Human Settlements," he said.

According to Arief, the handling of the Belawan Area will be carried out in stages. "In handling it, it is necessary to agree on the handling time, both short-term, medium-term and long-term," he said.

Meanwhile, the Director General of Housing at the Ministry of PUPR, Iwan Suprijanto, said that his party was ready to support the handling of the Belawan area. According to him, last year, the Ditjen Housing team conducted a survey and field identification to residents' homes.

Iwan said that some residents of the Belawan area live legally, namely owning land and official houses.

"In addition, there are also residents who live unofficially. This means living on state land without having ownership documents," he said.

Residents who live not officially on state-owned land, continued Iwan, will be assisted through the construction of flats with a rusunami or rusunawa scheme that will be discussed further with the Medan City Government (Pemkot).

"Residents who officially own their homes will be assisted to improve the quality of their homes," he concluded.