19:05, 11 August 2004

Two thirds of applicants in Shatoy district wait for compensation

As of today, 520 families living in the mountain Shatoy district (in the south of Chechnya) have got compensation for the housing and property lost during hostilities.

"The Shatoy district isn't very big, but it seriously suffered during the hostilities as well as other mountain districts of Chechnya, though," an official of the district administration said. "Altogether 1,860 applications for compensation have been filed by residents of our district. As of today, 520 families have already been given the money and started the restoration of their housing."

The sum paid as compensation to residents of the Chechen Republic suffered during the hostilities in the republic is 300 thousand rubles for destroyed housing and 50 thousand rubles for lost property. Meantime people hardly receive the full sum of money fixed by the law.

Many people assert they had to give local functionaries from 30 to 50 percent of the compensation so that to receive the rest of the sum. Otherwise those functionaries simply strike the man off the list for the getting of compensation or "lose" papers and can repeat it endlessly.

Author: Sultan Abubakarov, CK correspondent

Source: Caucasian Knot