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Construction of permanent housing in Lumajang District, East Java Province. (ANTARA/HO-PUPR Ministry/rst) - 

The Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing (PUPR) has expedited the completion of construction of permanent housing (huntap) for communities affected by the eruption of Mount Semeru in Lumajang District, East Java.

"The construction of huntap is one of the government's efforts to restore the community affected by Mount Semeru's eruption that occurred in December 2021. The type of this huntap is a 36-square meter house built in Sumbermujur Village, Candipuro Sub-District," Director-General of Housing at the PUPR Ministry, Iwan Suprijanto, noted in a press release on Saturday.

Suprijanto remarked that the government had built 1,951 huntap since January 2022, with a budget of Rp350.55 billion, with the Simple Healthy Instant House (Risha) method and knock-down construction that can be conducted quickly.

Suprijanto explained that prospective residents of the huntap had been determined according to name per address by the Lumajang District Government.

He also confirmed that currently, some 1,154 units were handled, 800 units were installed with Risha panels, and some 200 of them were covered with roofs.

"Vice President Ma'ruf Amin had directed us to complete the construction of huntap before Eid al-Fitr," he stated.

Suprijanto expressed optimism that the huntap, equipped with public and social facilities, would offer benefits to affected residents.

In addition, reconstruction in disaster-affected areas will not only rebuild damaged houses, but the newly built houses are also expected to be safer than the previous ones.

The construction of huntap was conducted by the Directorate General of Housing at the PUPR Ministry along with State-Owned Enterprises: PT Brantas Abipraya and PT Hutama Karya.

The huntap will be used to relocate residents affected by the eruption from seven villages -- Sumbersari, North Kebondeli, South Kebondeli, Curah Kobokan, Gumukmas, Kamarkajang, and Kajar Kuning -- in Lumajang District.

Apart from the permanent houses, the relocation area will also be equipped with other facilities to fulfill the residents' daily needs, such as public facilities, mosques, schools, sports facilities, fields, green open spaces (RTH), markets, and burial sites.

In addition, the PUPR Ministry will build a clean water installation sourced from the Tunggeng River, with the target to serve two thousand housing units and to conduct bamboo reforestation//ANT