Highlands provinces provide free homes for ethnic families

HCM CITY (VNS)— The Tay Nguyen (Central Highlands) provinces have provided free housing to 18,695 ethnic-minority households with a total population of 80,000, according to the region's Steering Committee.

The Central Highlands provinces have also invested more than VND307 billion (US$14.6 million) to build infrastructure, including transport and electric-power facilities as well as schools and clinics.

Housing and production land has been provided, and small irrigation works have been built. The resettled households have also been given animal strains and plant seedlings.

Local authorities have re-settled them in zone areas in districts where there are a large number of migrating households such as Ea Sup, Krong Bong, Ea H' Leo and Cu M'Gar in Dak Lak Province, as well as Krong No and Cu Yut in Dak Nong Province, and Chu Pah in Gia Lai Province.

The Central Highlands provinces still have 22,868 unsettled ethnic-minority households, with more than 110,000 people who have not been moved to zoned areas.

Most of these families moved from northern areas and live in tents in deep forests under poor living and transport conditions. Deforestation and social problems have occurred in these areas.

The provinces have petitioned the Government and relevant ministries to provide more capital to build projects to settle these households, and to develop new policies to include others in their migration plans.

They have also asked provinces in the mountainous north to draw up policies to restrict the migration of ethnic minorities to Tay Nguyen provinces. — VNS