New policies smooth way for successful relocation

By Guo Rui ( China Daily )

Updated: 2011-07-01

Shiyan, Hubei - Xue Peiwei, 29, was both happy and worried when, as one of the 1,213 relocated residents in Shiyan city, he moved to his new home.

"This two-story building was so spacious, about 216 square meters," Xue said with a smile while holding his two-year-old daughter.

Relocated villagers from Wudang Mountain tourism economy zone in Shiyan city, Hubei province, take cooking oil, rice and other household goods provided by the government to their new homes in the same city on Thursday. [Photo/Xinhua]

On Thursday, the new round of resident relocations for the central route of the South-North Water Diversion Project in Hubei province started in Shijiangzhuang village of Shiyan city.

Previous moves relocated residents outside their home cities, but this one provides new homes within Shiyan city, aiming to help relocated residents better adapt to their new lives.

Although the new house was much larger than the old one, Xue sighed when he looked at it.

"I could not afford the cost of decorating this house," he said.

Xue said the house cost him 130,000 yuan ($20,110), and the government compensated him 150,000 yuan for his old 86-sq-m house, 0.13 hectares of farmland and 0.67 hectares of upland.

Xue said as well as the farmland he ran a lamp store in Wudang Mountain tourism economy zone in Shiyan.

"It is hard to do business in that zone," he said.

Xue said his new house was far away from his store and he had to rent an apartment in the zone.

The place where his new home is located, named Dawuchang, was 6 kilometers from the zone.

"My daughter cannot depend on the farmland in future, because we don't have it any more," Xue told China Daily.

Xue, however, said he was confident about his new life.

To ensure the 289 relocated families adapt to their new lives, the government has launched a series of policies to help them.

Those involved could receive 0.07 hectares of farmland each and 0.007 hectares of vegetable plot for each family, according to Xiao Xinghua, deputy director of the resident relocation bureau of the Wudang Mountain tourism economy zone.

"We will also try our best to provide a job opportunity for each family," Xiao said.

Wang Pinguo, 64, a farmer who lived near Xue's village but was not included in the relocation, said his house was damaged when explosives were used in Xue's village during construction of the water diversion project.

"I did not get compensation," he said. Wang expected the government would also care for people who lived near places being submerged by the water project.

China's massive South-North Water Diversion Project is designed to transfer water from the water-rich south, mainly the Yangtze River, to the drought-prone north. It consists of three routes: the eastern, the central and the western. Shiyan is included in the central route.

About 180,000 people have to be relocated in Hubei province, and 77,000 had completed their relocation by the end of 2010. The rest will move in the next six months.