People watch a house being demolished in Wenling cityk, Zhejiang province, after its owner reached an agreement with the local government. [For China Daily]

FIVE YEARS AGO, three villages in Shaoxing in East China's Zhejiang province were demolished for a construction program and the villagers, 695 families in total, were relocated to a newly constructed community. However, some of them had only moved in earlier this year and now they have to move out again as the new community will be demolished. Urban construction needs long-term, instead of short-term, planning, says Beijing News:

Reports say that the local residents will be well reimbursed to cover their losses, but the majority of them still do not want to move, as the process of moving is stressful and brings inconvenience to their daily lives.

One local official said that the plan to demolish the new community is part of the local government's long-term plan, while another said that the original decision to relocate the villagers to the community was wrong and short-sighted.

Either way a lot of taxpayers' money has been wasted.

Whatever the excuse, one of the two plans must have problems. The Urban and Rural Planning Law clearly requires cities and towns to draw up long-term construction plans. If the original plan was wrong, the officials concerned deserve legal penalties; if the original plan was right, the official who decided to change it should be held answerable.

Reports say the plan of building Hexin community was made by a previous official and the one of demolishing it was made by his successor. This happens quite often in China: One official makes a decision, and then his or her successor overthrows it.

In order to prevent public money from being wasted in this way, it is time to encourage experts, not officials, to take the leading role in urban planning. The local legislative body, the local people's congresses, should have the final say in the process so as to make the plans more stable.