As many as 123 villas that should have been on the must-preserved list in Hanoi were demolished because of mismanagement by relevant agencies, a report of the municipal People’s Council revealed.

An old French-styled villa on Phan Dinh Phung Street, Hanoi. 

In 2013, the municipal People’s Council approved a proposal of the city People’s Committee on reviewing and preserving old villas and other architecture works built before 1954 and linked to historical/cultural relics or historic events of the city and the country.

The People’s Committee put 225 villas on the must-preserve list. Villas that were not included on the list could be demolished or rebuilt.

However, upon examining of the list, the Urban Affairs Board and the Legal Affairs Board under the municipal People’s Council found mistakes.

Some listed villas had the wrong address, some were not eligible to be on the list, and in particular, many eligible villas were not mentioned on the list.

The People’s Committee had allowed some villas to be demolished and rebuilt without reporting the matter to the People’s Council and the Government, the report said.

Nguyen Nguyen Quan, head of the Urban Affairs Board, said that the municipal People’s Council has asked relevant agencies to correct the list of old villas which are to be preserved.

They were also asked to develop preservation plans, particularly to avoid demolishing, rebuilding or moving such villas of historic value.

VNS