After the initial shock of this summer's wildfires, the Russian authorities are no longer letting emotion set the tone for decisions on relief.
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who visited Ryazan on Tuesday, said the commitment to build new housing for wildfire victims by winter must be honoured. Those who refuse to move to the houses built for them will get financial relief calculated on the basis of the market value of their destroyed homes, which cannot be high in outlying rural areas.
Yesterday, Moscow Region Governor Boris Gromov proposed that commissions comprised of fire victims be established in the districts where new housing is being built.
"They will decide who will be the first to get new housing," Gromov said, adding that the commissions would compile lists showing which families will be the first to get new residences.
The governor is trying not only to ensure maximum transparency of the construction and distribution process, but also to protect himself from possible scandals.
Analysts believe this is evidence that the first shock of the disaster has worn off, and that official response is taking new tack. The authorities are now making decisions based not on an emergency situation and the desire to calm the populace at all costs but on common sense and economic expediency.
The tone was set by Vladimir Putin, who reminded the governors of the standards of relief during a meeting in Ryazan.
"People who have lost their homes should be entitled to floor space no smaller than the houses destroyed by fire," he said, adding that assistance to the owners of more expensive homes is limited to 2 million roubles for building a new house and 1 million roubles for laying the necessary infrastructure.
"Some people failed to register their property in time because they were evading taxes. It's a pity that such houses caught fire, but their owners are alone to blame: if they were able to afford such houses, they could also have afforded the insurance," Putin said.
"The people who have lost much more modest housing should receive accommodation of equal size to their houses destroyed by fire," he said. The new housing could be several metres larger but not an inch smaller. "Will anyone get any poorer because of it?" the Prime Minister asked philosophically.
His next proposal, which the regional authorities have taken to heart, disappointed those who expected larger financial compensation for their destroyed homes.
"Monetary compensation for lost housing should be calculated proceeding from the lost floor space and the local market price. If you had a house of 50 square metres, you will receive compensation for 50 square metres proceeding from market prices in the area where the house was located," Putin said.
The prime minister's idea of setting a limit to the restoration of villages destroyed by the fire will certainly dampen the zeal of some officials, construction companies, and the victims themselves, who thought the government bankroll would never end, giving them a chance to rake in unjustified profits.
The United Russia party, which is ever ready to contribute, proposed that spending on the construction of new houses for the fire victims be halved under its Own Home project.
"This is an important issue. [We think] this problem should be the responsibility of the regional authorities," said project coordinator Alexander Kogan. "The funds allocated by the government will suffice for a house with a floor space of 100 square metres. Given the admissible difference of 10-15 square meters of floor space, the new house must not cost more than 1.2 million roubles for the building itself and about 1 million roubles for infrastructure. In my opinion, the people should have some money left for improvements."
Sergei Zhuravlev, the head of the Russian House of the Future project, denounced Kogan's statement as a political sham. He said the fire victims should have quality houses, which will cost at least 3 million roubles per home.
He also questioned Putin's proposal that compensation be based on the market value of the destroyed houses in the area in which they were located. This formula cannot be applied to rural dwellings in outlying districts, where the value of houses and land is so low that it has become almost impossible to sell them, he said.
Zhuravlev is also sceptical about the authorities' promise to build nearly 3,500 new houses by late autumn. He said they could build no more than 1,500 houses by that time, and that the remaining fire victims would be lost in red tape. However, setting the deadline is wise because it can prevent social tensions in the wildfire regions. The same method was used to keep deceived real estate shareholders at bay ten years ago during a period of widespread construction fraud, Zhuravlev said.
There were also many questions about the cost of connecting the new houses to electricity, gas, and water infrastructure, set by the government at 1 million roubles. Few of the houses destroyed by the fires had such infrastructure to begin with, and so the planned allocation of more than $30,000 per house looks excessive.
Commercial companies charge $30,000 for connecting houses to electricity and gas networks or for laying a standard five metres of gas lines in each house. However, the money should not necessarily be paid from the state budget.
On the other hand, there are several positive elements to the fire relief campaign. The largest of them is the construction of low-rise villages in nearly 20 regions, which the federal authorities have long been advocating.
Igor Naumov