Grozny officials check legality of people's residence in former TACs

In the capital of Chechnya, a special commission has begun inspecting the city dormitories, which were used earlier as temporary accommodation centres (TACs) for forced migrants and refugees. On August 5, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was informed by a source from the Grozny Mayoralty that the above checks were caused by the fact that the majority of TAC residents fail to pay for services. The other reason was to identify those tenants, who have their own housing and still illegally occupy rooms in hostels.

Meanwhile, tenants of the former TACs associate the next wave of checks with the authorities' intention to evict as many families as possible in order to escape solving their housing problems.

"I have no rural house, no land plot and no possibility of renting an apartment somewhere. Despite this fact, during the check in February, officials demanded that I should move to my relatives. Then, I managed to stay here," Madina, a resident of the Chechen Republic, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

The problem with providing housing to forced migrants has not been addressed for years, said Seda, a resident of one of Grozny hostels.

"When we were returned from a camp in Ingushetia in 2004, we were promised that all our problems would be solved. 10 years have passed, but nothing has ever got off the ground. Instead, we hear continuous demands to vacate the premises," said the woman.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian-language website of the ‘Caucasian Knot’.