Two resettlement areas in Nghe An have been uninhabited for 14 years.
Two resettlement areas in Quynh Thang commune, Quynh Luu district, and Quynh Trang commune, Hoang Mai town, were built to help people escape floods, but for more than 14 years, no one has been willing to live there.
The resettlement area has become a place for cattle grazing.
At this time, visiting the resettlement area in Quynh Trang commune, Hoang Mai town, one finds the entire area as an empty plot of land with no one living there. Many areas are overgrown with grass and weeds, used daily for grazing cattle, and some areas of the resettlement zone are being used by residents to manufacture plastic containers. The infrastructure of the resettlement area has deteriorated, with some sections of the drainage canals collapsing.
Mr. Pham Van Ke, residing in Hamlet 5, Quynh Trang Commune – a household eligible for relocation and resettlement – shared: The reason people are not moving to the new resettlement area is because the infrastructure there is not yet fully developed. There is no clean water, and the area is close to hills and mountains, making water drilling very difficult. Not to mention, the new location has limited land, no space for livestock farming or gardening, and requires significant construction costs while the relocation assistance is low.
Investigations reveal that most houses in this area are prone to flooding, forcing residents to expand or raise their foundations. However, during the rainy season, flooding is unavoidable, forcing people to move their belongings to other locations to escape the floods.
The Quỳnh Trang resettlement area (Hoàng Mai town) was built starting in 2010, with a total investment of over 6 billion VND, covering an area of more than 4 hectares in Hamlet 4, Quỳnh Trang commune. It aims to resettle 66 households living along the Hoàng Mai riverbank, which are frequently flooded due to the release of water from the Vực Mấu reservoir. In addition to the allocated land of 300-400 m², residents are provided with other housing.2Each household receives land for building houses and is provided with 10-15 million VND in support to relocate to a new place.
Mr. Le Dang Thang, Chairman of the People's Committee of Quynh Trang commune, added: The commune has organized consultations to encourage people affected by flooding from the Hoang Mai River to relocate to the resettlement area, but no one has come. This is because the resettlement area still has shortcomings such as incomplete infrastructure and insufficient residential and agricultural land.
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The commune has submitted a written request to higher authorities to either auction off the land use rights or allow the commune to manage the land itself. Currently, the commune is managing the land administratively, preventing residents living around the resettlement area from expanding or encroaching on the land.
Mr. Hoang Ngoc Thuy, Head of the Economic Department of Hoang Mai town, said: The resettlement area in Quynh Trang commune has been left vacant for a long time. The People's Committee of Hoang Mai town will submit a request to relevant departments for approval to convert the land to avoid wasting it.
A transformation solution is needed to avoid waste.
Similarly, in the resettlement area of Quynh Thang commune, Quynh Luu district, no one has moved in for over 10 years.
The Quỳnh Thắng commune resettlement project has a total value of over 10 billion VND and covers an area of 4.6 hectares. Completed in 2012, the project included the following components: internal road system, wastewater drainage ditches, electricity supply, and a community cultural center.
According to the project's objectives, this resettlement area will accommodate 54 households in Quynh Thang commune currently living in the flooded area along the Vuc Mau irrigation reservoir, with each household being allocated 600 m².2land, including 400 m²2Residential land, 200 m²2They received 20 million VND in relocation assistance for agricultural land.
One relocated household shared: "We don't want to move to the resettlement area because when we relocate and receive land in the new place, we have to demolish all our old property and change the land use purpose of our old place to agricultural land, while the relocation support is low."
Moreover, the land owned by the relocated households in their old locations is over 2,000 square meters.2Since all the houses in our area are solidly built and suitable for cultivating crops, we don't want to move to a new place with unsuitable land. Therefore, the residents signed a commitment letter stating their voluntary intention to remain in their old location and not move to the resettlement area.
Mr. Le Van Nga, Chairman of the People's Committee of Quynh Thang commune, said: "The resettlement area has been abandoned for a long time and is very wasteful. The commune proposes that the People's Committee of Quynh Luu district consider allowing the conversion of the resettlement area project's purpose to a rural residential land project, including: allocating land through valuation to eligible individuals according to legal regulations or auctioning residential land to households and individuals in need according to the land law."
Mr. Nguyen Xuan Dinh, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Quynh Luu district, added: Regarding the resettlement area in Quynh Thang commune, the district People's Committee is submitting a request to the provincial People's Committee for approval to change the land use purpose and auction the land, which will both avoid waste and generate revenue for the locality.
