Residents of one of the houses in the center of Khujand, popularly known as “Kairakkum”, continue to fight with a developer with whom they do not want to deal. According to the latest decision of the mayor’s office, the construction work is suspended until the disputes that have arisen with all the owners of the demolished house are resolved. In reality, something else is happening – the house, in which most of the inhabitants still live, is being systematically destroyed.
Relations between the residents of house No. 7 at the intersection of I. Somoni and A. Firdavsi streets, popularly known as “Kairakkum”, and the construction company “Kudrat-2010” did not work from the very beginning.
In March last year, by the decision of the head of Khujand, this company received permission to design and build a multi-storey building on the site of the “Kairakum” house.
However, the developer has not yet been able to agree on compensation terms with all the owners. By intimidating, threatening and turning the residents against each other, they force them to sign agreements.
Circumventing the law
Most residents remain in their apartments, distrusting the company’s reputation and rejecting its offers. They do not want to cooperate with this developer because he violates the terms of the resolution and will use violent methods to force people to move out of their apartments.
Following a written appeal by the residents to the President of Tajikistan, Emomali Rahmon, the construction work was temporarily suspended by the decision of the local authorities. The leadership of the region and the city obliged “Kudrat-2010” to resolve the disputes that arose with all the owners of the demolished house.
Office of the company “Kudrat-2010” in Khujand.
Asia-Plus’s photo
By the way, this is also required by law – the developer is obliged to peacefully agree with each owner on mutual conditions for the parties and only then start demolishing the building.
However, in reality, everything happens differently – the developer, regardless of legal norms, ignores the decisions of the authorities. This time, the builders started building a fence around the house.
11:10 a.m July 29
“It happened on the weekend of August 10,” says Bakhodur Azimov, one of the dissenting residents of the house. “We immediately started calling the municipality and the county and contacted the police. But no response within an hour.”
Without waiting for an answer from the officials, the residents of the house in desperation began to destroy the fence structures themselves.
After the video of the moment went viral on social media, law enforcement finally arrived at the scene. At that time, the builders had already dismantled the fence, which was installed directly on the paved pedestrian walkway.
As Azimov said, on the order of the mayor of the city, municipal services restored the damaged paving slabs and removed all the garbage.
For security reasons?
Commenting on this situation, Abdusame Majidov, a lawyer for Kudrat-2010 LLC, said that the installation of the fence was necessary for security reasons.
“At the moment we are not carrying out construction work and the installation of fencing is only a preparatory phase. This is done for security reasons,” he said briefly in a phone interview with Asia-Plus.
At the same time, residents say that the developer himself is making this security worse.
“What kind of security are we talking about when builders themselves destroy walls, ceilings, floors and create unbearable living conditions – in a house where people live with families, where business facilities work,” asks Bakhodur Azimov. “By putting up a fence, they are literally putting living people in a cage.”
The developer says that when the residents move out of the apartments, they will dismantle them themselves, but the residents say that the construction company did it.
Photo provided by residents of the house
To date, out of 29 owners, 10 people have agreed to the terms of the developer. Residents claim that they either intimidated them or offered them individually more favorable conditions.
The development company has its own numbers. According to their lawyer, agreements were drawn up with 15 residents of apartments and 8 owners of non-residential premises.
08:00 July 25th
If you believe these figures, there are currently 6 people left in the house, but in reality there are still many more.
“We want to be sure and we demand guarantees”
“The developer is acting like an intruder – no one can tell him that. Their builders act like world champions. This is real chaos. While the city administration supports us, the county administration does not react to this situation in any way. In addition, the developer’s representatives even boast that everything was decided at the regional level and we will not achieve anything. We haven’t been able to arrange a meeting with the head of the region for a year now,” says resident Bakhodur Azimov. “We are asking for the creation of an independent commission that would objectively assess the actions of the developer from the point of view of the law.”
The residents of the house did not trust the reputation of “Kudrat-2010” and were afraid of being deceived, and made a number of their demands on him.
The construction company must have funds in its bank account, in particular, in the amount of the costs of the owners’ apartments and office space. As well as funds to pay rent for temporary housing in the event that the developer fails to meet the specified two-year construction period.
Photo provided by residents of the house
In addition, people demand that contracts be concluded only with the management of Kudrat-2010, and not with the director of its branch in Khujand, as was the case with those who had already signed them.
It should be noted that Kudrat-2010 LLC has been carrying out construction activities in Khujand since last year.
“We want to be sure and demand guarantees that in the event of the developer’s bankruptcy or other force majeure circumstances, we will not be left on the street and will be able to buy our own housing. We, as residents of the demolished house, have the right to do so by law. Now a contract is drawn up for shared participation in the construction, and no guarantees are given to the owner,” residents say.
Zamira Kasymova is the owner of the clothing store in the house “Kairakkum” and has been working there for many years. Faced with pressure and threats against her, the woman also refuses to cooperate with this developer, she does not trust his reputation and the proposed conditions.
14:14 August 8, 2021
Desperate and unable to find support from the local authorities, Zamira wrote a letter to the President of Tajikistan and personally took him to Dushanbe.
“This construction company, which ambushes and threatens to set fire to the store, violates not only the law, but also our personal constitutional rights. I am a citizen of this country, a woman, a mother. I have no choice but to seek the help of our president and the leader of the nation,” the spokesman said.
Hope for justice and law
Meanwhile, attempts by Asia-Plus to speak to decision-makers in the Khujand mayor’s office, particularly Sukhrob Samadzoda, Khujand’s deputy mayor in charge of construction and architecture, were again unsuccessful.
Ravshan Rahimzoda, chief architect of Khujand, confirmed that construction work has been suspended until all disputes that have arisen are resolved.
“Installing a fence is not construction work. They are installed for security reasons. No one destroys the house. People themselves dismantle the apartments they are moving out of,” he told the publication briefly in a telephone interview.
The project of a multi-storey building on the site of the “Kairakkum” house.
Asia-Plus’s photo
Residents who continue to fight the developer intend to go to the end, hoping for justice and believing in the law. They believe the developer has “temporarily fallen” while Khujand prepares for a meeting with the country’s president.
“Everything this construction company is doing today is truly arbitrary. At the same time, the local authorities allow it for some reason. Therefore, there is no trust in this company with its insidious methods and audacity, we are sure that we will face scams in the future,” the residents emphasized.
It should be noted that in recent years, with the increase in the construction of residential buildings in the cities and regions of Tajikistan, complaints about the work of house-building companies have increased. They are often criticized for the unfinished construction and the low quality of the houses built.
There are also cases of fraud. So Muhammad 2009 was accused of this, as well as falsification of documents and abuse of authority.
The investigation revealed that during the construction of a high-rise building in the center of Dushanbe, company employees sold one residential space to two owners. The public prosecutor for the head of the construction company demanded 19 years in prison.
Meanwhile, in neighboring Uzbekistan, the demolition of residential buildings without compensation to their owners has been banned at the legislative level. The owner, who is legally deprived of his property, is thus provided with preliminary and equal compensation for housing costs and losses suffered by the citizen.
Asia-Plus will continue to follow the Kairakkum House case.
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