Resettlement creates instability   A resettlement quarter with more than 600 flats in HCM City's District 2. Many relocated families find their new homes have much less to offer. - VNA/VNS Photo Hoang Hai HCM CITY (VNS) - Families forced to relocate for the construction of key infrastructure projects in HCM City from 2007 to 2012 have been resettled, but their lives are not stable, city officials admit. Huynh Cong Hung, head of the municipal People's Council's Culture and Social Affairs Board, said after moving to resettlement apartments, relocated families had a better living space. However, the work and study of relocated family members have suffered as they live far away from their old homes. "It is also difficult for relocated people to find jobs in their resettlement areas," he said at a meeting on Wednesday. The municipal People's Committee should have a programme to restore stability to the lives of resettled people, he said. The programme would ensure the responsibility of project investors and local administrations to support resettled residents, he said. Participants at the meeting noted that there was a shortage of resetlement apartments for relocated families in some areas while they were abundant in others. Many relocated families have chosen to receive compensation money and buy a new house on their own as most resettelement houses which are allocated for sale to them are too far from comfort. Nguyen Huu Tin, deputy chairman of the municipal People's Committee, said the city built resettlement houses based on the demand of each project and also built standby accommodation. These measures have led to the shortage or surplus of resettlement houses and land in certain areas, he said. In addition, the number of relocated people who registered to buy resettlement houses or land and those who actually bought them did not match, causing an imbalance. To deal with this situation, the municipal People's Committee has assigned the city's Department of Construction to be the only agency that will manage the city's fund of resettlement houses and land. Currently these are being managed by district administrations. The city will also issue policies that allocate resettlement houses for relocated people in their old house areas, he said. The municipal People's Committee has ordered districts to end the situation of all temporary settlement by the end of June 2014, he said. Between 2007 and 2012, the city constructed 191 key projects, affecting the lives of 44,436 households in 17 districts, according to the city's Department of Construction. Of these, 24,000 households had to be relocated. A newly released survey conducted by the city's Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs and the city's Statistic Office, found that of 1,200 surveyed resettlement households in 12 districts, 419 bought their new houses on their own, 648 received the city's resettlement apartments and the rest live mostly in rented accommodations. Thirty-six per cent of the respondents reported higher incomes after resettlement, 37.8 per cent have the same income and 26 per cent have less income, the survey found. - VNS