Hundreds of families relocated in eastern China told their homes face demolition months after moving in
Residents originally moved to make way for development scheme now told their homes are on site of another planned project
Nearly 2,000 villagers who had just been relocated into new homes in eastern China have been told to move out by the end of the month as part of another redevelopment plan, state media reported.
A total of 695 families from three villages in Shengzhou in Zhejiang province were originally ordered to leave their homes five years ago to make way for the construction of a wholesale market for ties and a hospital in the area, China National Radio reported.
They were offered compensation to relocate to a nearby area called Hexin village where they could build new homes.
The relocation process was prolonged and some families only moved in at the beginning of this year.
But in August residents in Hexin village received a notice from the government saying that they must move out of their homes by the end of November.
The new plan is to develop the village into a high-end residential community, part of a larger government scheme to rebuild villages in urban areas of Shengzhou.
Many villagers were puzzled and angered by the decision, the report said.
Many have spent all their compensation money and dipped into their own savings to build new homes.
“The last government had just settled us down and now the [new government] is tearing [the homes] down again. They’re still brand new and were built with compensation money from the state. It’s such a waste!” one villager was quoted as saying.
An official from the local urban planning bureau said the plan was local government leaders’ idea.
“Back then [five years ago] we never expected there would be such a large-scale urban redevelopment project. In hindsight, we were too short-sighted,” he was quoted as saying.