Need to clarify licensing of sand and gravel mining on agricultural land in Nghia Dan

Proposed extension

The sand and gravel mine of Viet Hung Investment, Construction and Trade Joint Stock Company (headquartered in Thanh Hoa province) is located at the confluence of Dinh River and Hieu River, the border between Nghia Hung Commune and Nghia Thinh Commune of Nghia Dan District.

Although the mining license was granted in 2017 and the land leased in 2018, when this unit gathered machinery and started mining, many people in Tan Phu hamlet (Nghia Hung), where there is production land in this area, continuously protested.

Residents of Tan Phu hamlet believe that sand and gravel mining will cause riverbank erosion and agricultural land erosion, affecting people's lives and production. Residents also protested against the provincial People's Committee's decision to grant a mineral exploitation license and land lease to Viet Hung Investment, Construction and Trade Joint Stock Company.

People in Tan Phu hamlet went to the sand mine area to complain. Photo: Tien Dong

Ms. Nguyen Thi Sen, a resident of Tan Phu hamlet who owns about 1 sao of corn land in this area, said: when the province granted a mining license to Viet Hung Investment Construction and Trade Joint Stock Company, the people did not know. Currently, the people's wish is to keep the land for production, because Tan Phu hamlet is characterized by agricultural production, if there is no land for production, it will greatly affect life.

Mr. Nguyen Van Manh - head of Tan Phu hamlet added: the area licensed for the mine to Viet Hung Investment Construction and Trade Joint Stock Company is alluvial land, used for short-term agricultural crop production by Tan Phu hamlet residents since 2012. However, when granting the mine license and leasing the land, the local government and the investor did not complete the compensation procedures. The residents themselves have also petitioned many times but have not been resolved.

A river branch being built to make a road has raised concerns among locals that it could cause landslides due to the impact on the flow. Photo: Tien Dong

On June 6, 2023, when we were present in this area, we witnessed a large number of people from Tan Phu hamlet coming out to report on the shortcomings related to sand and gravel mining here. In particular, the area that people said Viet Hung Investment Construction and Trading Joint Stock Company had not yet compensated was up to 3.5 hectares.

In addition, not far from the licensed mining area, near the bridge over Hieu River, on a river branch on the Nghia Thinh commune side, we also discovered a newly built stone road blocking the river branch and leading down to the sand mining area. This made the people of Tan Phu village worried that it would cause landslides to the agricultural land on the opposite side.

Sand and gravel mining machines at the mine. Photo: Tien Dong

Waiting for the province to review

Inquiring into this issue, we learned that on July 29, 2014, the Provincial People's Committee granted a license to Viet Hung Investment, Construction and Trade Joint Stock Company to explore minerals in the Hieu River area for a period of 9 months. By May 2015, this company had been approved for the value of mineral exploitation rights with a total amount of 458,578,000 VND.

On March 29, 2017, the Provincial People's Committee issued license No. 1253/GP-UBND on the exploitation of sand and gravel minerals for common construction materials by open-pit method to Viet Hung Investment Construction and Trading Joint Stock Company. The exploitation area is 4.43 hectares wide, with a reserve of 205,719m³, the lowest exploitation depth is up to +37m, term is 20 years from the date of license issuance.

Machinery gathered around the sand and gravel mining area. Photo: Tien Dong

After being granted an exploitation license, on September 5, 2018, the company was leased 44,242.3m by the Provincial People's Committee.²Land with water surface and land for growing other annual crops in Nghia Hung commune for use in mineral activities until March 29, 2037. On July 3, 2020, land lease contract No. 87/HD-TD between the Provincial People's Committee and this company was signed.

However, after the company brought in machinery to exploit the area, the people of Tan Phu hamlet protested and obstructed the operation as mentioned above. This protest and obstruction has been going on for 4 years now, and the local government has intervened many times to discuss the matter but has not yet been able to resolve it completely.

Mr. Dinh The Hien - Chairman of Nghia Hung Commune People's Committee said that for the newly built stone road blocking a river branch, people's concern that it will cause landslides to the production land is well-founded. Particularly at the location where the mining license was granted to Viet Hung Investment Construction and Trade Joint Stock Company, the license was granted by the province, so the locality only has the authority to check that the mining is in accordance with the prescribed milestones.

In the face of public opposition, the locality itself has repeatedly participated in resolving the issue and petitioned higher authorities for consideration and resolution.

A landmark marking the mine site on the alluvial plain. Photo: Tien Dong

Specifically, on April 3, 2019, the People's Committee of Nghia Dan district coordinated with the People's Committee of Nghia Hung commune and departments, branches and organizations to organize a meeting and dialogue with the people of Tan Phu hamlet. Through the dialogue, they analyzed, explained and answered the people about the procedures for granting mineral exploitation licenses and land lease procedures for enterprises. At the same time, they propagated and mobilized the people of Tan Phu hamlet to coordinate with the local authorities and Viet Hung Investment Construction and Trading Joint Stock Company to handle arising issues. However, the result of the dialogue was unsuccessful, the people of Tan Phu hamlet resolutely did not agree with Viet Hung Investment Construction and Trading Joint Stock Company exploiting sand and gravel in the area.

Consecutively, in 2020 and 2021, the People's Committee of Nghia Hung commune also reported many times on the situation of sand and gravel mining by Viet Hung Investment and Construction Trading Joint Stock Company and the people's prevention. In particular, on December 17, 2021, after receiving voters' petitions on sand and gravel mining causing landslides, the People's Committee of Nghia Dan district also conducted an inspection. Through field inspection, it was found that the riverbank area in Nghia Hung commune, the licensed sand and gravel mine area, had riverbank erosion.

Claiming that sand and gravel mining causes landslides in agricultural land and, most importantly, lack of compensation, residents of Tan Phu hamlet protested the granting of a mining license to Viet Hung Investment, Construction and Trade Joint Stock Company. Photo: Tien Dong

In particular, on March 24, 2023, after people continued to complain, the People's Committee of Nghia Dan district coordinated with the Nghia Dan district police and Nghia Hung commune to inspect the sand and gravel mining at this location. Through the inspection, the authorities found that some markers in the licensed area had been lost. Therefore, the People's Committee of Nghia Dan district issued a decision to administratively fine this company more than 15 million VND and forced the return of the lost markers.

Mr. Tran Manh Ha - Vice Chairman of Nghia Dan District People's Committee said: The locality has met and had dialogues with local people many times. However, Tan Phu hamlet people still disagree and obstruct sand and gravel mining activities.

Currently, the district has also proposed the Provincial People's Committee to direct relevant departments and branches to coordinate in inspecting and assessing the extent and causes of landslides on the banks of the Hieu River and agricultural land in Nghia Hung commune. Consider the people's proposal related to the revocation of the Decision on granting mineral exploitation licenses and the decision on land lease for an area of ​​44,242.3m2.²for Viet Hung Investment Construction and Trade Joint Stock Company in Nghia Hung commune./.