State Must Come Fast, This Sunday Minister Ara Gaspol Builds CSR Huntap in North Sumatra

Minister of Housing and Spatial Planning (PKP) Maruarar Sirait held a meeting with a number of national media editors in Jakarta. (ANTARA/Aji Cakti)

JAKARTA - Minister of Housing and Spatial Planning (PKP) Maruarar Sirait stated that he was ready to start building permanent housing (huntap) from Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) assistance for disaster survivors in the Sumatra region, with the initial phase focused on North Sumatra Province.

Maruarar emphasized that accelerating development was the top priority with the target of laying the first stone or groundbreaking to be carried out this week, so that people affected by the disaster could immediately feel the presence of the state and return to having a safe and decent place to live.

"I want this week to be groundbreaking. People shouldn't wait too long. We want them to get up and get back to having a decent place to live," said Maruarar Sirait, who is affectionately known as Ara, in his statement in Jakarta, Antara, Wednesday, December 17.

For the initial phase, the construction of the huntap will be carried out in North Sumatra because the readiness of the land is considered adequate. The initial location of the construction includes North Tapanuli Regency with 103 units of houses, Sibolga City 200 units of houses, and Central Tapanuli Regency 100 units of houses.

Ara also asked the regional government in Aceh and West Sumatra provinces to immediately prepare the land for the construction of huntap so that the construction process could begin immediately and not be hampered by administrative issues.

He conveyed the plan to build a total of 2,603 permanent housing units, all of which are sourced from CSR funds without using the State Budget (APBN).

Of this amount, 2,500 units of huntap will be built with the support of the Tzu Chi Buddhist Foundation, while the other 103 units are direct initiatives from Maruarar Sirait.

The allocation of 2,603 CSR huntap units will be spread across three provinces, namely Aceh Province with 1,000 units of houses, North Sumatra Province 1,003 units of houses, and West Sumatra Province 600 units of houses.

To support the acceleration of implementation, Maruarar said the Ministry of Law and the Financial and Development Supervisory Agency (BPKP) had expressed a commitment to help from a legal and supervisory perspective, so that the development of huntap could run quickly, orderly, and accountable.

In addition, the Ministry of Home Affairs also provides support in coordination with local governments, while the Ministry of Religion plays a role in strengthening the social aspects of society.

Ara emphasized that the acceleration of post-disaster handling was a direct order from the President of the Republic of Indonesia which emphasized that the state must be present and act quickly in helping people affected by disasters.

English:

"In a disaster situation like this, the state must not be slow. The President's instructions are clear: the state must be present, act quickly, and ensure that people have a decent home again. If there are rules that hinder, then it must be adjusted immediately," he said.