Gia Lai Chairman Demands Clarification on Uncompensated Three-Story House Demolition for Road Construction

On October 20, the Office of the People’s Committee of Gia Lai Province announced that Mr. Pham Anh Tuan, Chairman of Gia Lai Province, issued directives regarding several cases following the periodic citizen reception session. Among these was the case of “Dilemma Over Uncompensated Three-Story House,” as reported by Nguoi Lao Dong Newspaper.

During the citizen reception session on October 15, Mr. Pham Anh Tuan chaired the meeting and engaged in dialogue with citizens. After hearing reports from relevant departments, agencies, and localities on the inspection, verification, and review of case files, as well as the citizens’ statements and input from attending delegates, Chairman Pham Anh Tuan concluded with several key points.

Specifically, Mr. Nguyen Trong Nhue (Ayun Pa Ward) contested the administrative decision of the former Chairman of Ayun Pa Town’s People’s Committee regarding the lack of compensation for his three-story house, which was being used for swiftlet farming, during the implementation of the Planned Road Project from Ring Road 1 to Ngo Quyen Street, Cheo Reo Ward, Ayun Pa Town.

Chairman Pham Anh Tuan directed the Provincial Inspectorate to lead the review, in collaboration with relevant agencies, of the entire case file. They are to submit a report and recommendations to the Chairman by October 2025 for further consideration and resolution in accordance with regulations.

As previously reported, Mr. Nhue’s household owns a 995 m² plot (200 m² residential land, the remainder agricultural). The road project required the reclamation of 158 m² of residential land and 459.2 m² of agricultural land, for which he received over 800 million VND in compensation.

The three-story house, with a floor area exceeding 540 m² (used for swiftlet farming) and a construction value of approximately 2 billion VND, was not compensated. This was attributed to its construction on agricultural land without a permit, leading to an administrative violation report (No. 08/BB-VPHC) issued by the former Cheo Reo Ward People’s Committee on October 24, 2019.

Mr. Nhue contested this, arguing that the plot includes 200 m² of residential land, making the three-story house compliant with planning regulations. He claimed no notification of road planning or administrative penalties for construction violations were issued during or after the house’s completion in early 2020, prior to the land reclamation notice, and thus compensation is warranted.

On November 8, 2024, the former Cheo Reo Ward People’s Committee confirmed in writing: “From the construction of the building in 2019 until the land reclamation of Mr. Nguyen Trong Nhue, no administrative violation reports were filed by the Cheo Reo Ward People’s Committee.”