Russia Gives Priority to Housing, Refugee Issues in ChechnyaThe Russian government's top social and economic tasks in Chechnya are to rebuild houses and bring back refugees, the Interfax news agency on Monday quoted Vladimir Yelagin, minister of supervising the social and economic development in Chechnya, as saying.The government is also considering the possibility of granting compensation for Chechen residents affected in the war, the minister said. "This is the question faced by the government. There will come a resolution or, maybe, a law in this respect," he added. "Money for housing is just the first compensation. Later on, there will come compensation for property, damage done to health, and so on." According to Yelagin, the Russian State Committee on Construction is setting up a division to supervise the supplies of construction materials and the restoration of houses in Chechnya. "Nothing will go directly to Chechnya. Everything will have to be controlled, up to the acceptance of every donator," said the minister, stressing the spending of funds will be as transparent as possible. "We want to make the program of financing the rehabilitation of Chechnya open and to publish it in the press. Each Chechen district will have its part in the program, so that Chechens know what will be restored and when and how much money will be allocated," he added. "Chechnya will be given minimum cash, only for salaries and pensions, and the rest will be materials, equipment and resources." Yelagin also called on public organizations to help official institutions monitor how the funds are spent. |
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