HAVANA, Sept 29 (Reuter) - Cuban authorities said Monday a law regulating migration to Havana from the provinces to ease overpopulation in the capital, was already having a positive effect.
The weekly trade union newspaper Trabajadores said that from April when the law was introduced to August, 7,000 fewer people had moved to Havana, a city of two million, compared with the same period last year.
Since April, some 10,900 people had moved to Havana, but 8,480 left to live in the provinces, a net flow into the capital of just 2,420.
Trabajadores said about 54,000 people had legalized their situation in Havana since April.
The April law includes measures such as housing inspections by authorities to ensure homes are not overcrowded. People from the provinces cannot move to or live in Havana if they are occupying homes deemed to be overcrowded.
Penalties for violating the law include the immediate repatriation of people illegally residing in Havana. Although Havana residents have reported cases of people being taken back to the provinces in buses, authorities have given no fugures.
The law was introduced after President Fidel Castro said the crush of people in Havana was straining resources such as jobs, public transport and water supply. The capital's infrastructure has been badly affected during Cuba's economic crisis since 1991 and many homes are in very poor condition.
16:04 09-29-97