Grozny gives 73 apartments to orphans

The Chechen authorities have allocated 73 apartments to children without parental care. During next five years, they plan to provide housing to more than 400 other orphans.

Key handover to settlers took place on the early 20's of December. "At present, 416 orphan children are still in the lists for housing, and we plan to provide them with housing within next five years," the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Development of Chechnya reports.

According to the Republic's Ministry of Labour, children without parental care and children under guardianship, provided that they have no registered housing, can expect to receive housing under the programme for provision of housing to orphan children.

However, some local residents believe that the programme for provision of housing to orphan children is being implemented in Chechnya with serious violations.

"At our place, housing is provided to orphans in accordance with the principle a person, who has paid for that, is included in the list for housing," states Leila A., a local resident. According to her, she is a guardian to two children of her brother, who was killed together with his wife in bombing of Grozny yet in 1999.

"They told me several times that I should pay hundred thousand roubles or more to include the children in the list of recipients of housing; however, I did not pay, since, at present, I have no such amounts of money," she says.

Comments from the Chechen authorities on this issue are still not available.