Northwest Steering Committee works with Nghe An province leaders

(Baonghean.vn) - In order to check the living conditions, economic and social development of people in resettlement areas located in hydropower projects in Nghe An province, after conducting a field survey in 2 resettlement communes in Thanh Chuong district, today, October 24, 2012, in Vinh city, the Northwest Steering Committee had a working session with leaders of Nghe An province and leaders of districts with hydropower projects in the province.

Attending the meeting were comrade Le Kha Dau - Deputy Head of the Northwest Steering Committee as Head of the delegation, along with representatives of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, the Ministry of Finance, and the Ethnic Committee. On the side of Nghe An province, there were comrades: Le Xuan Dai - Member of the Provincial Party Committee, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee; Tran Cong Duong - Member of the Provincial Party Committee, Chief of the Provincial Party Committee Office, along with representatives of the Provincial People's Committee Office and the departments of Natural Resources and Environment, Agriculture and Rural Development, Construction, Ethnic Committee, leaders of Thanh Chuong, Que Phong, Tuong Duong districts and the Ban Ve Hydropower Plant Management Board.



Comrade Le Kha Dau spoke at the meeting.

At the meeting, on behalf of the Provincial People's Committee, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment reported on the living and production situation of people resettled in hydropower projects in Nghe An province. Currently, 29 hydropower projects have been planned, of which 3 projects have been completed, 9 projects are under construction, 4 projects have started construction, 5 projects have been granted investment certificates but have not started construction, 8 projects are under survey and design but have not been granted investment certificates.

Among the implemented projects, the Ban Ve Hydropower Project is the largest, requiring the relocation of the most households, with a total of 3,022 households, 34 villages of 9 communes in 2 districts of Tuong Duong and Ky Son. Despite the advantages that have been achieved, there are still many unresolved problems. Most projects have not completed compensation and land support for affected households and individuals. In particular, the Ban Ve Hydropower Project has not yet completed compensation and land support for the people. The allocation of agricultural land, especially rice land and forestry land, has not been completed. Regarding housing, public works at resettlement sites are not suitable for people's living habits and are quickly deteriorating, of poor quality but have not been repaired. The reality of life, production and business of resettled people is still difficult, many resettled people return to their old place of residence, in fact, the number of poor households is still high, many households are not confident in doing business in the resettlement area. The coordination between investors and all levels and sectors is still limited. The reclamation of agricultural and forestry land and the construction of resettlement areas have not been one step ahead, mainly newly resettled people have to carry out reclamation.

At the meeting, representatives of relevant districts, departments and branches had many opinions on the issue of resettlement in Ban Ve, which still has many shortcomings that have not been completely resolved. The authorities need to identify the causes of the problems that need to be addressed, and some issues that are still stuck in the documents need close coordination between the investor and the district to resolve together. Some opinions suggested that the investor should not be assigned to build the resettlement area because playing football and blowing the whistle at the same time is not suitable for the people and there is no one to check and supervise, leading to poor quality of the project and great loss. Reclaiming rice fields to have enough rice fields for the resettlement area is not feasible, so it should be converted by buying cows or converting crops and livestock.

Comrade Le Xuan Dai spoke.

Comrade Le Xuan Dai suggested that the district leaders and the Ban Ve Hydropower Project Management Board need to actively coordinate to resolve problems for the people, create additional jobs, convert crops and livestock, and research new suitable economic models to create a solid step for economic development of the people in the resettlement area.

Speaking at the meeting, comrade Le Kha Dau highly appreciated the efforts of the Management Board of Hydropower Project 2, especially the Hua Na Hydropower Project has done a good job in resettlement. Besides, there are still many problems in compensation and site clearance in the resettlement area of ​​Ban Ve Hydropower Plant. He suggested that the investor should coordinate with the district to completely resolve the problems, creating conditions for people in the resettlement area to soon stabilize their lives. He also suggested that the district and the Management Board of the Project should study the model of seedlings for commodity production in the resettlement area. He accepted the opinions to reflect to the authorities to help the investor and the district solve the existing difficulties to stabilize the lives of people in the resettlement area.

Sy Minh