HCM CITY (VNS) — Houses built along the sides of rivers and canals before June 2004 will be issued use certificates, but those built after that date will be destroyed, deputy chairman of the HCM City People's Committee Nguyen Huu Tin said at a conference on Wednesday.
At the conference, Tin asked local authorities to set up plans for moving nearly 1,300 affected households. Any houses that remain must be 5-10m from the river and canal edge to avoid landslides.
Ly Thanh Long, chief inspector of the municipal Department of Construction, told Nguoi lao dong (Labourer) Newspaper that after the city promulgated Decision 150 regulating the use and management of river and canal banks in June 2004, more than 1,800 people were discovered in violation of the decision, of which more than 500 were punished.
Long said that so many violations occurred because of loose management by local authorities.
Additionally, after Decision 150 was issued, the municipal authorities did not issue detailed regulations on landmarks for the riverbanks, which would determine how punishments were decided.
The city will fund VND10 billion (US$476,000) for relevant bodies to set up the landmarks.
