New quake draft to be ready next month

The draft law on new quake regulations, which includes evacuating settlements in areas of high risk and offering residents new homes built by state-run construction company TOKİ through long-term payment schedules, is to be amended by the end of 2011, a ruling party official said.

“There would be new, tight regulations increasing penal sanctioning,” Reha Denemeç, deputy chairman of the Justice and Development Party (AKP), told reporters yesterday.

Stressing that buildings construction by the state-run housing authority TOKİ were not destroyed in recent earthquakes, Denemeç said they plan reconstruction to be concluded in five to 10 years. The number of buildings needing reconstruction was about 10 million, Denemeç told private channel NTV.

The Environment and Urban Planning Ministry is reviewing an existing draft law on urban transformation to attach provisions that would allow for the “urgent expropriation” of buildings in high-risk areas. Turkey’s existing legislation lacks provisions to force residents out of high-risk areas into settlements built within urban development programs.

The urban development drive will cover not only quake-prone zones but also areas prone to landslides and flash floods, mostly in the eastern Black Sea region.

The government plans to offer residents new homes built by TOKİ via long-term payment schedules.