Deadlock in handling encroachment of Vu Giang canal in Yen Thanh

Construction boom

Nghe An Newspaper received a complaint from people in Lien Thanh Commune (Yen Thanh) about many households illegally building houses and encroaching on Vu Giang Canal, but the local government did not handle it thoroughly.

Studying the local situation, we found that the entire canal section of more than 1km long, from National Highway 7B to Cho Veo bridge (Lien Thanh commune), attached to the inter-commune traffic road, has been surrounded by houses. Among them, many houses are solidly built, 2-3 stories high; some families have built foundations for their houses waiting for construction; many areas have just been filled with soil to level the ground...

According to Mr. NVH (residing in Hamlet 3, Lien Thanh Commune), the situation of households building houses encroaching on the Vu Giang River has been going on for a long time. Although the people have requested to handle it many times and the district has also come to inspect, in reality it has not been implemented.

Even on March 20, 2018, the Chairman of Yen Thanh District People's Committee signed Decision No. 2168/QD.UBND allowing Lien Thanh Commune People's Committee to select a location to plan and build infrastructure to relocate households from the above 78 plots of land to the new planning area. The resettlement site was later determined to be in Con Me area, in Hamlet 2, Lien Thanh Commune, with a total area of ​​28,000m2.²However, the relocation of these households is still not possible.

Also according to the reporter's investigation, the section along Vu Giang canal connecting from National Highway 7B to Cho Veo bridge and the section from Thong bridge to Khanh Thanh commune, from 1989 - 2001 (mainly in 1994, 1995), Lien Thanh commune People's Committee allocated land for residential purposes to 76 households and collected land use fees. The allocated land is located in the Vu Giang canal.

However, at that time, the local government did not specify the depth of the plot, only allocated the width of the land along the road, and did not specify the term of use. After being allocated the land, many households started building houses. At this time, some households had been granted Land Use Rights Certificates. This lack of consistency made many households (especially those who bought land at the same time but had not been granted Land Use Rights Certificates) extremely upset.

Deadlock?

Many households believe that the commune's unauthorized sale of land should have been handled by revoking the Land Use Rights Certificate, canceling the land allocation decision... instead of preventing people from building houses. Because in reality, many households have been living on the land for decades without needing a Land Use Rights Certificate.

Mr. Nguyen Ba Tan - Chairman of Lien Thanh Commune People's Committee said: This is a historical issue that has not been resolved for a long time. Households when buying land all have land purchase invoices and pay annual taxes. Up to now, many households have been granted Land Use Rights Certificates by the State...

It is known that the local government is currently implementing strict control measures to prevent further construction and expansion. There have been some cases of administrative penalties, but it is still very difficult to prevent. Even though it has been announced that buying, selling, and transferring is not allowed, many households still proceed.

Mr. Le Van Hong - Head of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Yen Thanh district said: The fact that households built houses, violating the Vu Giang canal corridor in Lien Thanh commune has been confirmed in reality. This violation has different impacts and impacts depending on each case. And according to the Law on Dikes, these cases must be moved out of the canal area to ensure drainage.

During the reporter's work in Lien Thanh commune, many households also expressed their opinion that the Vu Giang canal area in this area is still large, so it is necessary to dredge and build embankments on both banks, then study and legalize the households who have bought land along the canal, to avoid having to relocate and resettle.

Discussing the above opinion with Mr. Thai Huu An - Head of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of Yen Thanh district, Mr. An said that the district has also submitted this opinion to the Department of Natural Resources and Environment and related agencies, departments and branches. However, handling according to this plan is very costly, first of all, it is necessary to survey the geology, terrain, calculate the flow rate, the accompanying impacts, not to mention the cost of building embankments on both banks...

Obviously, the situation of dozens of households building permanent houses, encroaching on Vu Giang canal (the section flowing through Lien Thanh commune), violating the Land Law, the Dike Law... is not debatable. This has also been clearly recognized by local authorities at all levels, recommendations and proposals for handling have also been raised many times, but up to now, these recommendations have almost "gone nowhere" and are also issues that need to be reconsidered.