Slum Management In Banjarmasin Focuses On 5 Districts

ILLUSTRATION/ANTARA/Firman

JAKARTA - The arrangement of slum areas in the City of Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan (South Kalimantan) focuses on 450 hectares which will be continued in 2023 in five sub-districts.

Head of the Public Housing and Settlement Area Office of Banjarmasin City, Chandra said that the slum eradication program will remain a priority for the city government this year.

According to him, according to the stipulations of the Banjarmasin City Spatial Plan (RTRW) for 2022-2026, the slum area that must be handled is 450 hectares.

This year's arrangement of slum areas, he said, remains in collaboration with the provincial and central governments, one of which is through the city without slums (Kotaku) program.

The city government through their respective agencies, he said, specializes in handling footbridge infrastructure or road bridges connecting residents' homes that can only be passed by pedestrians and two-wheeled vehicles in riverside areas and swamplands.

According to Chandra, for this program, the city government has budgeted IDR 9 billion for several packages for the repair and rehabilitation of footbridges, including those in Mantuil, South Banjarmasin, Murung Selong East Banjarmasin, Sungai Lulut East Banjarmasin, and Alalak Banjarmasin Utara.

"Because there are quite a lot of footbridges in this city, so their handling is on a priority scale, especially in areas that have been designated by decree as slum areas," he said as reported by ANTARA, Monday, January 16.

Chandra said the progress of handling slum areas in Banjarmasin City since the previous five years, namely, 2017-2021 was set to be around 350 hectares, and around 320 hectares were handled.

According to him, the latest Decree on the arrangement of slum areas in Banjarmasin City with the inclusion of former industrial areas as new slum areas in 2022 to 2026, has reduced by around 35 hectares.

"This year we will continue with the target of tens of hectares more," he said.

The management of slum areas in the city of Banjarmasin, said Chandra, is in collaboration with the provincial and central governments, as well as CSR funding from the private sector, including for repairs to residents' houses, road infrastructure, sanitation, and clean water supply.

"So, move together there, until there is no longer the impression of a slum area, suitable for residents to live in," he said.