Regarding the demolition of 150 illegally constructed houses in Tan Tao Ward, on March 1, Mr. Vu Chi Kien, Vice Chairman of the People’s Committee of Binh Tan District (HCMC), said that disciplinary actions have been taken against the officials involved.
According to Mr. Kien, the responsibility of local officers in managing the area needs to be examined first as it is the main reason for the proliferation of illegal constructions.
Over 100 illegally constructed houses in Tan Tao Ward have been demolished.
Mr. Kien stated that the district’s disciplinary council has agreed to handle and discipline 4 officials involved in this matter. “There are 4 disciplinary cases, in which one civil servant, who was directly in charge of the Tan Tao Ward area, was dismissed for failing to timely detect the violations in these illegal constructions,” he said.
“In addition, the former deputy chairman of Tan Tao Ward and the current deputy chairman of Tan Tao Ward have also received warnings. The former deputy chairman of Tan Tao Ward in the previous term (which saw a number of violations) received an admonition,” added Mr. Kien.
However, Mr. Kien also mentioned that since some related civil servants have left their positions, according to the regulations on handling and disciplining civil servants, the People’s Committee of Binh Tan District will not consider disciplinary actions against them.
“The People’s Committee of Binh Tan District has thoroughly and strictly considered the responsibilities of the officials involved in this case. For such a large number of violations to occur and only be discovered after a prolonged period of time, the responsibilities lie both with the officials in the previous and current stages,” emphasized Mr. Kien.
Some households have erected temporary shelters after being evicted.
In terms of handling the violations, Mr. Kien revealed that the illegal constructions are mainly concentrated in 3 areas. For the area on Ho Van Long Street (Tan Tao Ward), Binh Tan District handled it by forced demolition and issued demolition orders in October 2023.
“We forcibly demolished 3 constructions, while other constructions were self-demolished by the residents. However, their demolitions were not thorough. After the demolitions, the residents built temporary shelters and left their belongings on others’ land as makeshift accommodations,” stated Mr. Kien.
“Local officers went to the site to persuade the residents, who claimed that it was just temporary, but when there were no officers around, they added more reinforcing materials,” said Mr. Kien regarding the demolition of these illegally constructed houses in Binh Tan District.
The illegally constructed houses now remain as mere frames, with scattered bricks and stones.
According to Mr. Kien, these actions were intentional and calculated rather than spontaneous occurrences. The local authorities have also compiled documents for administrative punishment. As for reoffending constructions, Binh Tan District will strive to completely address them by March 2024.
Mr. Kien evaluated that after learning from the previous demolition in October 2023 in Tan Tao Ward, Binh Tan District will engage in more detailed discussions with the residents to avoid incomplete demolitions.
“The viewpoint of Binh Tan District is to be thorough and determined to complete the tasks. However, we will proceed step by step and plan accordingly for each area. In the three areas with violations, each area has different characteristics, with some being mainly residential houses, some being mostly rental houses, and others being vacant lands. In the coming time, the People’s Committee of Binh Tan District will allocate specific timeframes for processing and determine the order of these areas,” emphasized Mr. Kien.
Regarding the violations, Binh Tan District People’s Committee punished and disciplined 4 officials responsible for the construction of 150 illegally built houses, including one main official who was forced to leave his position.
Mr. Kien further informed that for officials related to the violations in the previous term who have already retired and are no longer district-level officials, administrative disciplinary actions will not be taken. “We will not apply administrative discipline to officials who left the agency 5 or 6 years ago. However, the investigating agency is currently involved, and if any signs of violations are found, they will be prosecuted. We need to wait for the investigating agency, as they have already taken action,” Mr. Kien added.
Earlier, VTC News reported on the demolition of 150 illegally constructed houses in Tan Tao Ward, Binh Tan District.
According to the Chairman of Binh Tan District’s People’s Committee, the illegally constructed houses in Tan Tao Ward were built between 2016 and 2020. The causes of this situation are the loose management responsibilities and the lack of determination in handling violations.
“The occurrence of such a series of illegal houses is partly the responsibility of the officers in charge, especially those responsible for managing the area. The local government is currently focusing on handling the issue of illegal constructions. However, during the process, if any signs of negligence or cover-up are discovered, strict actions will be taken,” said the Chairman of Binh Tan District’s People’s Committee.
The Chairman of Binh Tan District’s People’s Committee also mentioned that during the inspections and supervision, the local authorities did not promptly detect and completely address the situation. This led to the emergence of a large number of houses built on agricultural land, negatively affecting the local security and order.
