Residents of Russia's Black Sea resort of Sochi, who have been forced to leave their houses and move to other places to give space for the Olympic construction, receive equal land parcels in exchange for those intended for Olympic facilities, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak told Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Monday.
Sochi, which will host the 2014 Winter Olympic Games, has seen public protests over the planed demolition of housing in the Olympic construction area.
Kozak told Medvedev "these issues have been solved with a maximum attention for citizen's interests."
Local authorities "meet the needs" of citizens and do not mind if a land parcel provided in exchange for the seized one is of a better quality, he said.
"This is how we should act," Medvedev answered. "After all, this is a discomfort for citizens. Although the Olympics are an issue of national importance, but for a certain person it means the need to move somewhere, and he must be rewarded for this."
Meanwhile, media reports have said that the situation in Sochi remains tense as many of those requested to move claim land parcels that are being seized and those given in exchange are not equal.
Kozak said only 200 out of 6,000 hectares of land on which various Olympic facilities and roads are planned to be built were privately owned.
First, he said, the government planned to provide those intended to be moved from Olympic construction areas with money compensations. However, a decision was then taken to estimate the market price of housing intended for demolition and provide locals with equal housing.
SOCHI, May 3 (RIA Novosti)
