271 Hectares Of Areas In Serang City, Banten, Are Classified As Slums, The Highest In The District Of The Standings

The condition of residential areas in the Margaluyu Village area, Kasemen District, Serang City, Banten Province. (ANTARA/Desi Purnama Sari)

SERANG - Serang City, the capital of Banten Province, still has a total of about 271 hectares of slum areas spread across six sub-districts. Head of the Settlement Area Division of the Serang City Housing and Settlement Area Office, Iphan Fuad, said that slum areas were scattered in 43 urban villages and 86 neighborhoods and neighborhood units in six sub-districts in Serang City. "The most slum areas are currently in Kasemen District, 54.21 hectares, entering the coastal area," he said in Serang, quoted by Antara, Wednesday, November 8. He detailed that the slum areas in urban areas cover an area of 105.17 hectares, including those in Serang, Takkan, and Cipocok Jaya sub-districts. In addition, there are 101.67 hectares of slum areas in semi-urban areas such as Curug and Walantaka sub-districts. Iphan said that the determination of slum areas was carried out based on environmental road conditions, drainage, sanitation, clean water facilities, regularity of houses, waste, and fire protection. "If one of them is not included in the indicator, then it is included in the slum area calculation, because there are categories ranging from moderate, mild, to severe. If the seven categories are met, they will be categorized as heavy," he said. According to Iphan, the slum areas in Serang City are mostly in the mild and moderate category. "Yang di Kecamatan Kasemen itu masuk ke kategori sedang meski luas kawasan ruangnya memang lebih banyak di sana," katanya. Iphan said that the Serang City Government continues to strive to fix slum areas, including by helping build and repair uninhabitable houses (RTLH) in slum areas. The Housing and Settlement Areas Service, according to him, involves relevant government agencies as well as partner institutions and companies in fixing slum areas. "We are working with the Social Service, BAZNAS, TNI, and also companies through CSR to assist the construction of RTLH," he said. "The slum areas are not only buildings, but the seven indicators that need to be repaired," he added. Iphan also stated the importance of changing people's behavior in efforts to improve slum areas. "They litter, sometimes toilets have been built and not guarded, and still bathing in rivers, defecating in rivers. This must be changed," he said.

Iphan invites the community to help reduce slum areas in the capital city of Banten Province by jointly protecting their respective neighborhoods.