The current status of illegal construction works and perennial tree planting on the water storage area of Ban Mong Irrigation Reservoir Project, in Chau Binh Commune (Quy Chau) has been briefly informed by us in the article "Ban Mong, many sighs...".
More specifically, on the rough trail leading to Binh Quang village, Chau Binh commune, about 3 km long, there are many houses and barns using cheap materials, built hastily and temporarily. The walls of houses and barns are mainly built with bricks, without plaster or if there is any, it is roughly done. The roof is the same, just supported by rafters of miscellaneous wood, small steel frames to put up cheap corrugated iron sheets. That is all, the format of the house and barn.
Most of these houses have been uninhabited for a long time. The evidence is that many houses have been surrounded by grass and bushes, and you have to turn to get in. In these places, there are places where clusters of houses are mixed with barns; in other places, a series of interconnected houses are built, similar to the way people build independent rooms for tenants in the lowlands. Signs of hasty, makeshift construction are also clearly shown in the auxiliary works, such as domestic water tanks, which are mostly built on unplastered ground, the bottom of which is exposed to the red mountain soil; the surface of the tanks is just a thin layer of plaster on plywood. Because of the makeshift construction, because most of the works are abandoned, and because the rain and sun in the water storage area of Ban Mong irrigation reservoir are harsh, many houses and barns have collapsed; or the surrounding walls have shifted, the corrugated iron roofs have warped...
Along with the construction of new temporary works, the water storage area of Ban Mong irrigation reservoir is being replanted on land that has been recovered by the State. In some areas with insignificant areas, there are short-term food crops such as corn and cassava. But the majority of the areas are planted with acacia trees with a cycle of 5-6 years before being harvested. In some areas, the acacia trees are 2-3 years old, the circumference of the base is about 7-8cm, the canopy is high, forming a dark green population. In some areas, the acacia trees have been planted for a few months to a year, the trunk height is only 30-50cm, the young green canopy connects on the hillsides in strips stretching for kilometers.
Together with Mr. Bui Hoang Tung - an officer of the Compensation and Site Clearance Council of Quy Chau district; Luong Van Thuong - a cadastral officer of Chau Binh commune, they went to these places and said that the district and commune had inspected and made records for each violating household; and requested the demolition of illegal constructions. Mr. Thuong said that after the Compensation and Site Clearance Council of the district and the Commune People's Committee measured the land, counted assets, made records, and announced land recovery, the construction of new temporary structures took place. People did not know where they heard it, thinking that there would be more compensation for land and assets, so around 2019, they rushed to build.
“Most of the construction takes place at night, on holidays. Construction is very fast, only 2-3 days to complete. One night I received news that a household was building at night. The road to Binh Quang village is both far and bad, but because of my duty, I still went in. But when I went to persuade and explain the policy, the people did not listen, and showed their anger and annoyance. I feel sorry for the people, I don’t know who they listened to to do that. They lost money but got nothing…” – Mr. Thuong said.
Since September 2021, in order to archive records of construction order management on the planned land of the Mong Irrigation Reservoir Project, the People's Committee of Chau Binh commune has collected documents announcing the State's land recovery; notices prohibiting construction on planned land, and inspection records of households with violations, to form a thick file.
The file shows that from September 27, 2017, Binh Quang village issued Notice No. 558/TB-UBND to reclaim land to implement the Ban Mong Irrigation Reservoir Project. By October 9, 2017, Chau Binh commune issued Notice No. 153/TB-UBND prohibiting construction on the planned reservoir land of the Ban Mong Irrigation Reservoir Project, Binh Quang village area. “To avoid economic losses for all people when there is a State project, the People's Committee of the commune requires households affected by the reservoir of the Ban Mong Reservoir Project in Binh Quang village to maintain the current status, not to expand and plant perennial trees in the area must be relocated. In case households intentionally build or expand in the project area, the People's Committee of the commune will proceed to draw up a Minutes of handling. The expanded construction will not be counted to be included in the compensation plan” - Notice No. 153/TB-UBND clearly stated.
However, in early 2019, violations of construction order in Binh Quang village occurred in a large number. In April 2019, Chau Binh Commune People's Committee had to coordinate with Binh Quang Hamlet Management Board, representatives of the Project Management Board to organize inspections and verifications, and make inspection records and suspension records for 33 cases of violations in new construction, house extensions, livestock barns, water tanks, kiosks, etc. For example, Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Manh's household built a new house with bricks and corrugated iron roofs; Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Hong's household built 2 houses, 1 barn with bricks and corrugated iron roofs and 2 water tanks; Mr. Nguyen Minh Giang's household built 1 house, 1 barn, 1 water tank, 1 auxiliary building; Ms. Nguyen Thi Phuong's household built 2 houses with bricks and corrugated iron roofs, etc.
After that, the People's Committee of Chau Binh commune had to issue a notice requiring the households involved to dismantle the new construction and expansion works before July 30, 2019. At the same time, together with the Management Board of Ban Mong Irrigation Reservoir Project, a meeting was held with the Village Management Board and 33 households to come up with a plan to handle violations of new construction and expansion. However, the new construction and expansion works in Binh Quang village were not dismantled. And more sadly, the planning area of the reservoir bed with a depth of 76.4m, the auxiliary dam 1 of the Ban Mong Irrigation Reservoir Project in some villages of Chau Binh commune continued to have similar violations. An evidence in the file of Chau Binh commune, on August 9 and 13, 2021, the People's Committee of the commune inspected and discovered that the households of Mr. Dang Xuan Thuy and Dau Hong Nam, both in Dong Phau village, had committed new construction acts.
According to Mr. Lo Thanh Son, Head of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of Quy Chau district, there are also households that build new works due to urgent needs in life. "The project is prolonged, while the houses are degraded and need to be repaired; or toilets, water tanks are all essential works for daily life, so some households still build..." - Mr. Son said. However, Mr. Son acknowledged that there have been many cases of deliberately building new and expanding works in the hope of receiving compensation. "The commune has made many records, in Binh Quang village, hamlet 34, Tang village, Pung area..." - Mr. Son publicly informed. According to Mr. Son, this situation is influenced by people from outside, even, they proactively build works for households. “There are cases coming from Nghia Dan, Quynh Luu, Quy Hop districts… They brought a truck full of materials, bricks, cement, and corrugated iron and completed the construction in just 2 days. We determined that these were cases of deliberate collusion, hoping that later when there was compensation money, they would share the profits…” – Head of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of Quy Chau district affirmed.
Question: How has Quy Chau district taken measures to rectify the situation of new construction and planting trees on land that the State has reclaimed? According to Mr. Lo Thanh Son, Quy Chau district directed the People's Committee of Chau Binh commune to draw up a record of violations and resolutely not conduct an inventory or consider compensation for violating constructions. But Mr. Son had concerns and confided that, due to the lack of project capital, compensation, support and resettlement work had many problems and difficulties that the district could not completely handle. Therefore, it had a negative impact on people's lives. And because of many difficulties, people "complained and demanded", even sent petitions to the district, province, and even to the Central Government with the request to completely clear the land; requesting compensation for newly built or expanded properties. “Recently, people have sent petitions to the province. Then the province transferred them to the district to handle according to their authority. Actually, the district has checked and responded to these issues many times, but the people still do not agree…” – Mr. Son said.
Listening to Mr. Lo Thanh Son's thoughts and discussions, I remembered the complications that had occurred in Yen Hop commune (Quy Hop) - the place where the main works of the Ban Mong Irrigation Reservoir Project were being constructed. At that time, it was a very long time before 2017. Due to lack of funds, the project had not been implemented, and the land area of more than 10 hectares managed by Dong Hop Forestry Farm had been reclaimed by the State, cleared and handed over to the Ban Mong Irrigation Reservoir Project Management Board, but some households in Yen Hop commune had encroached and planted perennial trees. Quy Hop district, relevant departments, branches, Party committees and authorities of Yen Hop commune had spent a lot of time on dialogue, propaganda and mobilization, but there were still cases of non-acceptance and non-handover of land. Therefore, on October 31, 2017, the People's Committee of Quy Hop district had to organize enforcement work according to the provisions of law.
Remembering this sad event, looking at the situation of temporary construction and perennial tree planting on recovered State land in Chau Binh commune, is truly a potential concern!
