A super-slim buiding in Ha Noi's Tu Liem District. The city still has ill-shaped houses which will not have been removed by the September deadline. — VNA/VNS Photo Hoang Lam
HA NOI (VNS)— The deadline to remove deformed and super-slim houses in Ha Noi by September is unlikely to be met due to inadequate compensation.
The statement was made by Deputy Director of Construction Department Tran Duc Hoc, in a meeting of the Ha Noi People’s Council held this week.
He disclosed that only 203 out of 394 ill-shaped houses have been removed.
The remaining 191 houses are based in nine districts including Ba Dinh, Dong Da, Hai Ba Trung, Tay Ho, and Hoai Duc. Houses in Thanh Xuan, Cau Giay, Hoang Mai and Ha Dong have also been tasked for removal.
Deputy director of the Department of Planning and Architecture Duong Duc Tuan said people were prohibited from building on blocks less than 15sq.m or under three metres wide.
According to Nguyen Hoai Nam, who heads the council’s Legal Department, the actual figure of houses needing to be removed is much higher than records show, as many houses confirmed for demolition are yet to be removed.
These houses bring down the quality of the city’s architecture and interfere with city planning, he said.
These houses also pose a significant safety risk to people living inside and in the surrounding neighbourhood, he said.
He has urged relevant authorities to explain the cause of this delay.
Hoc said the financial resources needed to compensate for the removal of dangerous houses was significant and that it was difficult to source the funds from other projects already undertaken by the department.
It is estimated that each district will need at least VND5 billion (US$238,000) for removals with the exception of Ba Dinh District which will require a whopping VND450 billion ($21.4 million) for the removal of 35 houses, he said.
Meanwhile, owners of marked houses have also been reluctant to accept the compensation offered by the authorities.
Hoc believes many have been living in their houses permanently while the remainder are landlords collecting rent as their primary income. If their houses are removed, so will their income source, he said.
Nguyen Huu Khang, who owns a house on Dao Tan Street, said his three-storey house was built more than 10 years ago and has a legal construction certificate.
This house has been for lease at a monthly price of VND25 million ($1,190), he said.
Like many other home owners, Khang is adamant that his compensation should be equal or higher than the market value of his current house so that he can afford an equivalent block of land.
Adding to the dilemma, the People’s Committee has decided it will not allow the land to be used for parking lots or pavements. Hoc says that the districts face a significant problem in deciding how small land lots will be used after houses are removed.
Nam has called on two departments, the Department of Construction and the Department of Planning and Architecture, to provide better support for local authorities to deal with complex cases.
In the meantime, the city’s People’s Committee has requested local communities to report their financial needs for scheduled removals. — VNS
Đăng ký: VietNam News
