Banjarmasin re-assesses slum areas to continue Kotaku programs

Banjarmasin, S Kalimantan (ANTARA) - The Banjarmasin Housing and Settlement Agency (Disperkim) has begun to re-assess slum areas to continue the central government's city without slum areas (Kotaku) program.

Head of Settlement Area of the agency Agus Heri W here on Tuesday said the Kotaku program --which is to reduce slum to 0 percent-- has entered Banjarmasin since 2015.

According to Mayor's Decree in 2015, he said, the extent of slum included in Kotaku was 549.7 hectares. Until 2019 more than 500 hectares had been handled.

"The remaining slum in Banjarmasin is 46.21 hectares or 8.71 percent of the 549.7 hectares," he explained.

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In 2020, Agus said, Banjarmasin is not receiving budget assistance from the central government's Kotaku program, due to the influence of COVID-19 pandemic.

However, the central government asked Banjarmasin to re-assess the slum area for the next Kotaku program. The available data is of 2015. "So we survey again whether it is increasing or decreasing," he said.

According to him, there were several areas that previously could not be included in Kotaku program, even though slum but were in green areas or industrial areas.

"The riverbank area in Alalak for example, it formerly a timber industrial area, did not include, the same as Pulau Bromo which was applied as a green zone," he said.
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