Standing Committee of Tuong Duong District Party Committee works with Khe Bo Hydropower Plant investor

The Khe Bo Hydropower Plant Construction Project is being implemented on the Ca River, in Tam Quang Commune, Tuong Duong District. The project started in 2007 and was completed in 2011. According to the initial approved plan, 641 households from 20 villages, in 4 communes and towns, had to be relocated.

When implemented, the total number of households that had to be relocated according to the approved decision was 590 households, however, 15 households asked to stay and not move, so the number of relocated households was 575. Up to now, 571/575 households have relocated, while 4 households have not relocated in the old Hoa Binh market area.

Currently, the resettlement support policies and regimes of the Khe Bo Hydropower Project have basically paid 100% to households and individuals subject to resettlement. However, according to the review, there are 7 remaining issues that need to be resolved soon.

Specifically, after the reservoir was filled, in addition to households whose land was completely affected and had to be relocated to concentrated resettlement areas, there were also households whose land was partially flooded by the reservoir, with 398 plots of land/398 households needing to have their land records adjusted...

Currently, the investor has signed a contract with a consulting unit to implement from 2020, and in 2021, the file will be submitted to the Department of Natural Resources and Environment for review. However, due to changes in the water storage process, the lake bed contour needs to be adjusted, leading to the issuance of new Land Use Rights Certificates to households that have not yet been implemented.

Regarding the work of adjusting the boundary of the reservoir, after the actual water storage for power generation, some areas of the reservoir boundary markers were different from the initially approved markers, leading to changes in the scope and area of ​​land affected by the reservoir, greatly affecting the lives and interests of 44 households in Xa Luong commune, Thach Giam town, Tam Thai, and Yen Thang.

However, when adjusting the boundary of the reservoir, there will be an increase or decrease in the area. For the increased area, after the adjusted boundary is approved, the investor will coordinate with the locality to provide additional compensation according to regulations. However, for the reduced area that has been previously planned for compensation, there is no solution yet, because the cost has been paid to the people.

There are still 4 households with 19 people in the old Hoa Binh market area that have not yet relocated out of the affected area of ​​the reservoir because they have not agreed with the relocation plan as well as the compensation plan.

The compensation and support work for the difference in land prices between the departure and destination areas still has 164 plots of land in Dinh Thang, Dinh Huong, Dinh Tien, Dinh Phong villages of Tam Dinh commune that have not implemented the compensation plan. Because in 2018, when preparing the public compensation records, the households did not agree to sign the records because the land value at the departure location was lower than the land value at the destination location, so the people did not receive the money, so the compensation plan has not been approved. Currently, it is necessary to establish specific land prices at the time of implementing the compensation plan, so the records must be re-prepared from the beginning.

To ensure social security as well as the legitimate aspirations of the people affected by the project, the investor and local authorities have agreed to add two infrastructure works: a lighting line for Pung village (Yen Thang) and the relocation of the 35kV medium voltage line out of the reservoir area. However, this has not been implemented to date.

In addition, during the implementation of compensation, site clearance, migration and resettlement of the project, to suit the reality, the People's Committee of Tuong Duong district and the investor agreed to adjust the changes in scale, area and plan compared to the approved decision, leading to an increase in the cost of this component of the project (about 150 billion VND). However, up to now, the Provincial People's Committee has not had a specific plan to consider approving the adjustment of the overall project of the migration and resettlement component according to the investor's submission as well as the request for adjustment of the People's Committee of Tuong Duong district.

Not to mention, currently, the project's resettlement and compensation work has been basically completed. However, the settlement of compensation, resettlement and migration component costs submitted to the competent authority for approval has not been carried out, because currently the Provincial People's Committee and related departments and branches do not have specific instructions to handle this content.

At the meeting, the investor representative also committed to implementing the contents under their responsibility and authority in the coming time. The investor also proposed a plan to re-establish or reorganize the Resettlement Management Board of the Khe Bo Hydropower Project (now no longer in operation) to support the resolution of the above difficulties and problems.

Concluding the meeting, comrade Le Van Luong - Secretary of Tuong Duong District Party Committee also assigned the District People's Committee to coordinate with the investor's representative to complete the working minutes, agree on the contents that can be completed in the coming time. Focus on solving easy contents first, then gradually remove difficult contents later, to ensure the legitimate rights of the people.