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ANGERANG: Thirteen districts in the northern part of Tangerang have expressed their interest in splitting from the regency.

“We have strong reasons to split from Tangerang regency and form a new North Tangerang regency,” Mawawi Almauqi, a member of the Committee for the Establishement of North Tangerang Regency, said on Monday.

Almauqi said the 13 districts have been left behind in development programs compared to other regions in the regency.

He attributed the inequality to policies designed by Tangerang regency. “Tangerang regency has not allocated enough budget for us. Development programs do not reach this area, stretching along the Tangerang coastline,” he said.

He added that one million residents in the area have also faced problems when dealing with administrative matters.

Separately, speaker of the local council Amran Arifin said the council would not stand in the way of the people’s aspiration for a new regency.

But Amran warned proponents of the split about the pitfalls in setting up a new region.

“It’s not easy to develop a new city or regency or city. We don’t want the people’s welfare to deteriorate because of the formation of a new regency,” he added.

The 13 disticts in question are Sindang Jaya, Pasar Kemis, Kronjo, Mekar Baru, Kosambi, Teluknaga, Pakuhaji, Sepatan Timur, Sepatan, Sukadiri, Mauk, Rajeg and Kemiri.

In 2008, seven districts in the southern part of Tangerang merged to form the South Tangerang muicipality. The districts were Ciputat, East Ciputat, Pondok Aren, Pamulang, Serpong, North Serpong and Setu.