The Hanoi Department of Construction proposed that the municipal People’s Committee push back the deadline for dealing with extremely narrow houses until the end of the second quarter this year.
Hanoi slow to implement narrow house ban
Earlier, the city requested the department to clear away this type of house by the end of the first quarter of 2013. However, according to the department, by late March localities had only succeeded in demolishing 345 out of 597 slated for destruction.
In a report to the municipal authorities, the deputy director of the department, Nguyen Duc Hoc, said that several localities were facing obstacles in dealing with the problem because the deadline was not specific enough. Several districts failed to mention the issue in their reports to the department.
The Department of Construction also said that documents issued by the local People’s Committee, the Department of Planning and Architecture and the Department Natural Resources and Environment were late, slowing the process of getting rid of the houses in violation of code.
In addition, compensation for site clearance has not been sufficient to encourage tenants to leave their homes and administrative procedures for land confiscation remain time-consuming and cumbersome.
Following the Department of Construction's proposal, the vice chairman of the People’s Committee, Nguyen Van Khoi said, “The department has not yet offered up any concrete solutions to deal with the issue in a quicker way."
The vice chairman has requested the Departments of Planning and Architecture and Natural Resources and Environment to make a report on their progress before April 30.
