Trenggalek - The Association of Village Heads (AKD) Trenggalek, East Java, complained about the central government's policy of cutting the Village Fund transfer by up to 85 percent of the ceiling. This is considered to hinder the implementation of village development programs.
The head of the Trenggalek AKD, Puryono, said that on average, villages in Trenggalek previously had a village fund ceiling of around Rp1 billion per year. However, due to the cuts, the funds that can be disbursed to the village are now only around Rp200 million to Rp300 million.
"In 2025 almost all villages can only disburse the Village Fund for two terms. The rest is cut and transferred to the Red and White Village Cooperative Program," said Puryono in Trenggalek, Thursday, January 1.
He explained that the Village Fund cuts were carried out nationally to support the development of Red and White Village Cooperative (KDMP) outlets and products, with a village capital loan scheme of IDR 500 million to IDR 3 billion.
The Village Fund cuts are planned to last for six years according to the installment tenor set by the government.
Puryono emphasized that the village government in principle supports the KDMP Program. However, on the other hand, the village also has the obligation to carry out priority programs which are the result of community proposals through village consultations.
"Villages support the KDMP, but the program resulting from village deliberations must also be a priority. In fact, many programs cannot run," he said.
He said that the remaining Village Funds are currently mostly spent to finance mandatory government programs, such as handling stunting, extreme poverty, and posyandu operations. As a result, there is almost no more budget for the development of village infrastructure.
"With the Village Fund of Rp. 200 million to Rp. 300 million, there is practically no room for development," said Puryono.
AKD Trenggalek also noted that in 2025 there were 41 villages that had carried out development programs before the pruning policy was implemented. The cutting of Village Funds in the midst of the implementation of the program caused a number of villages to experience financial difficulties and be entangled in debt.
"Funds are cut when the program is already running, while the Village Original Income is unlikely to be enough to cover the obligations that have already been incurred," said Puryono.
He ensured that if the policy of cutting the Village Fund was still in force, many village programs that had been agreed upon in the Village Consultative Meeting could not be realized.
AKD Trenggalek hopes that the central government will return the allocation of Village Funds in accordance with the mandate of Law Number 6 of 2014 concerning Villages, which regulates the allocation of Village Funds of 10 percent of the State Budget.
"We hope that the Village Fund will be returned in accordance with the law and not cut for other programs, because the impact is very detrimental to the village," said Puryono.
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