A group of families whose homes are in the way of a municipal road-widening project rejected an offer from city hall on Friday to re­­­locate and receive financial compensation, representatives from the community said.

Located on the outskirts of Phnom Penh in Tuol Kork district, community 347 takes its name from the road along which the 14 families resisting relocation live.

The city offered community members plots of land in Kandal province and compensation packages of about US$750 each, which they rejected.

“We pleaded with the authority to stop using any tactics of forcible eviction over us and make the land titles for the 14 families,” representative Poeuv Panha said, adding that the nine houses have been occupied since 1990.

He said the community made the proposal in a bid to escape future evictions.

Rith Darith, the Boeung Kak I commune chief, said the 14 families were asked to leave from the state land so the government could widen the road by 30 metres.

Since 2007, more than 100 families have abandoned their homes and accepted the relocation funds, while a small number have held out, he said.

“The residents are not knowledgeable of legal affairs of public land. We can only offer them with a plot of land and a small amount of policy budget, and they must accept that,” Darith said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Chhay Channyda at [email protected]