On March 1st, Mr. Vu Chi Kien, Deputy Chairman of the People’s Committee of Binh Tan District (Ho Chi Minh City), chaired a press briefing on the handling of management responsibilities related to the demolition of hundreds of illegally constructed houses in Tan Tao Ward (Binh Tan District) back in October 2023.
Unlicensed houses on agricultural land on Ho Van Long Street, Tan Tao Ward – Photo: N.X.
According to Mr. Vu Chi Kien, in the past period, the People’s Committee of Binh Tan District proactively inspected and detected 129 land violations in public construction areas in Tan Tao Ward. These constructions were mostly built during the period from 2015 to 2020.
In 2023, the People’s Committee of Binh Tan District and the People’s Committee of Tan Tao Ward focused on mobilizing residents to voluntarily demolish violated constructions, combined with forced demolition of 62 violated constructions. These violated constructions were within the planning of public constructions, including planning for education, green trees and emergency roads, and planning for green parks and sports.
Mr. Vu Chi Kien stated that regarding the handling of responsibilities of relevant officials in state management work: The district has formed a disciplinary board and disciplined 4 officials, including former officials of Tan Tao Ward involved in the mentioned case. Among them, two officials were disciplined with a warning (one former vice chairman of the ward was transferred to another position, one vice chairman of the ward); one former chairman of the ward (already transferred) was disciplined with reprimand, and one land official was disciplined by being dismissed due to having direct responsibility for the area but failed to timely detect the violations.
In addition, the People’s Committee of Binh Tan District and the People’s Committee of Tan Tao Ward also organized multiple direct contacts with the violated households mentioned above. During the mobilization process, authorities at all levels provided full information to the households about the strict handling standpoint of the district authorities towards the violations, and the households have also become aware of their own violations.
At the same time, the district authorities have been considering providing temporary accommodations for cases with special and difficult circumstances.
In order to ensure the effectiveness and efficiency of state management work, the standpoint of Binh Tan District is to resolutely handle the violated constructions. The District People’s Committee plans to continue the implementation of enforced demolition for the remaining violated constructions from March 12th to April 10th, 2024.
