Rp 30b aid given to 240 poor villages

SURABAYA: The East Java provincial government has disbursed Rp 30 billion (US$3.5 million) in aid to 240 poverty-stricken villages in the province. The fund is part of Rp 48 billion from the provincial budget slated to be distributed this year to 400 poor villages across the province.

The remaining Rp 18 billion will be disbursed immediately, said Deputy Governor Soenarjo.

He said that the fund would be used, among others, to provide soft loans to poor people, so that they could start a business.

According to the new poverty index recorded by East Java's Central Bureau of Statistics in 2003, poor families in East Java number 2,169,363, or around 7,267,363 people. The province has a population 36 million people. -- JP