VietNamNet Bridge – Inspectors in HCM City discovered that more than 550 houses were built without licences in the city's Go Vap and Binh Chanh districts last month.

"Most of these illegal houses were built on agricultural land after local inspectors were transferred to the city's Construction Department," said Thieu Van Se, chief of Vinh Loc B Village in Binh Chanh District.

Without building inspectors, the People's Committee authorities were left in charge of construction affairs in the village.

"Many houses were built in a short period of time. We lacked the personnel to stop the construction," Se said.

Inspectors found 390 illegal houses in Binh Chanh District and more than 150 in Go Vap District.

According to officials from Go Vap District 's People's Committee, most illegal houses were built at night. Most of them were located in Doi Hamlet in the district's Ward 15.

"Workers can build a house within two nights," said Col. Nguyen Thanh Long, police chief of Go Vap's Ward 15.

Inspectors from Go Vap District found 15 houses built in one night in Ward 15 last week.

According to officials from the city's Construction Department, many more illegal houses are being built in the hamlet, as local authorities have no strong measures to halt construction.

The department recently asked the city's People's Committee to order Go Vap District to stop the transport of building materials to Doi Hamlet.

"Go Vap should refuse to provide permanent residence status to people who live in these illegal houses," officials from the department said.

Vu Van Nha, owner of a house in Doi Hamlet, admitted that he had built a house without a licence.

Local residents are not allowed to build on a large area in Doi Hamlet where a development project has been delayed a long time.

"The land was left unused for a long time, and I needed a house for my family," Nha said.

According to Phan Duc Nhan, deputy director of HCM City's Construction Department, work is underway to dismantle all houses built on agricultural land in Go Vap and Binh Chanh districts.

Source: VNS