|
HCM City may scrap construction ban
In 1996 the Government decided to take over lands in HCM City's Binh Chanh District to build a 2,600-ha new urban area but 14 years later the project remains on paper.
But in that time, people in four communes – Binh Hung, An Phu Tay, Phong Phu, and Hung Long – have not been allowed to build, sell, or even repair their houses.
This is not the only area that has been affected in this manner in the city, with thousands of households in other areas too falling victim to such "suspended projects."
But redress may be at hand finally as the city Department of Construction has proposed lifting a ban on construction on these lands.
If the People's Committee gives approval, people living at the site of suspended projects will be permitted to build houses of up to five storeys as long as they can prove ownership and agree to knock down the structure when the time comes to hand the land over for the project.
Another category of land on which construction has been banned will also benefit from the new provision – those where railways or bus stations, roads, electricity, water supply, and drainage systems, schools, and hospitals and parks will come up but for which authorities have not issued land "withdrawal" orders.
The department's new proposal has been hailed by many residents, especially those living on the sites of suspended projects.
Poor planning
A senior official at the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment once said the city has among the largest number of suspended construction projects, most of them related to widening roads and alleys and building public works.
The districts worst affected are Binh Chanh, Thu Duc, Binh Tan, and Tan Phu.
There are several reasons for the delays in construction projects, according to Mai Ai Truc, a former Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, including irrational planning.
Consequently, people living in areas designated for public construction projects have suffered since they are not allowed to upgrade or build houses or sell their land-use rights, he said.
Even infrastructure here faces the same constraint as roads, bridges, and water supply and drainage systems have deteriorated but are not allowed to be upgraded, making life here very difficult and marring the urban landscape.
vietnamnews
|
