Involuntary Displacement and Resettlement — Policy and ... - CEPA

opinions into account and some donors allowed householders to work inconstructing the houses. The main reason for low quality houses was thepoor service delivery of contactors. Householders complained that most ofthe contractors spent less than the amount allocated by donors and did notallow them to participate in the construction. Some donors have followedgovernment guidelines when constructing and delivering houses and somehave not. Moreover, as the government was not the main provider of landfor resettlement, their control over housing quality standards was limited.5.1.2.2 Size of the house75% of the households had small houses of less than 500 sq.ft. before thetsunami. Currently, 61% of them live in houses of 500 - 700 sq.ft. Thefindings show that compared to pre-tsunami conditions, the majority havebigger houses. However, it is evident that resettlement has not alwaysfollowed government guidelines as 27% of households still live in smallhouses with a floor area of less than 500 sq.ft.Table 5.7: Floor area of the housesPre-tsunamiCurrentFloor area (sq.ft.)Frequency Percent Frequency PercentLess than 400 99 62.3 28 17.6400 - 500 21 13.2 15 9.4500 - 700 16 10.1 97 61.0700 - 1000 19 11.9 9 5.71000 and more 4 2.5 10 6.3Total 159 100 28 17.616% of households had single room houses and 46% had had houses withtwo rooms before the tsunami. Currently, only 4.4% have houses with oneroom. This shows that more people have better houses than they had.93