We need to strengthen the management of vacant land!

(Baonghean) - In early September 2015, Baonghean Newspaper received a complaint from several households living in Group 1, Block 8, Ha Huy Tap Ward (Vinh City) regarding a household illegally expanding and encroaching on 6 square meters of public land; however, the local ward authorities have not handled the matter strictly enough...

According to the petition, the household of Ms. Nguyen Thi Tam, residing in Group 1, Block 8, Ha Huy Tap Ward, illegally encroached on 6 square meters of public land and then constructed a building on it. Ms. Tam's violation was documented by the functional forces of Ha Huy Tap Ward. However, on the evening of September 4, 2015, residents of Group 1 were invited to a meeting by the block's leadership committee with the question: "Do you agree to allow Ms. Nguyen Thi Tam to borrow the land to build a playground for children?" The petitioner argues that encroaching on public land and then constructing without a permit is a violation of the law. Yet, instead of acting according to legal regulations, the authorities sought the opinions of the residents in the presence of the violators, making it difficult to ensure fairness and impartiality, as everyone is hesitant to express their opinions...

The "Age of Fairies" kindergarten is run by the family of Ms. Nguyen Thi Tam in Ha Huy Tap ward (Vinh City).

Upon investigation, it was found that Ms. Nguyen Thi Tam's family lives on a 258m2 plot of land (of which 62.49m2 is within the North Canal planning area) and runs a private kindergarten called Tuoi Than Tien. When the State constructed the North Canal road and sidewalk, 43m2 of land belonging to Ms. Nguyen Thi Tam's family was confiscated. After the North Canal road and sidewalk project was completed, a small plot of land, measuring 0.6m wide on one side and 1.4m wide on the other, and 6m long (6m2 in area), appeared adjacent to Ms. Tam's family's plot. Because this 6m2 plot of land is bordered on both sides by the alley and the North Canal sidewalk, and is not related to any other family in the neighborhood, Ms. Tam's family wishes to have it legalized as part of their family's land to use as a playground for children.

In late July and early August 2015, Ms. Nguyen Thi Tam submitted a petition to the Ha Huy Tap ward authorities expressing her wishes. Following this, Ms. Tam raised the ground level and poured concrete piles to build a fence. Upon discovering a household violating construction regulations, on August 10th, the Ha Huy Tap ward Urban Regulations Team conducted an inspection and requested Ms. Nguyen Thi Tam's family to remove the concrete piles, maintain the original state of the land, and only use the area after obtaining permission from the competent authority. On August 17th, Ms. Nguyen Thi Tam submitted another petition to the Ha Huy Tap ward People's Committee, reiterating her wishes and committing to only temporarily construct on 6 square meters of public land to expand the children's playground.

Ms. Tam's petition was confirmed by the representative of the Block 8 committee, Block Head Nguyen Ngoc Lam, who also requested that the competent authority allow Ms. Tam to legalize 6 square meters of public land into her family's plot, as this would ensure urban aesthetics and not affect the road and sidewalk boundaries of the North Canal. However, this 6 square meter plot of land is located within the old road expansion plan of the North Canal project; this plan has not yet been adjusted by the competent authority, so Ms. Nguyen Thi Tam's request cannot be fulfilled at the present time. Therefore, Ms. Tam requested to "borrow" the 6 square meters of land to complete the construction of a playground for children.

Upon receiving feedback regarding the aforementioned incident, on August 25, 2015, the People's Committee of Ha Huy Tap Ward submitted Report No. 89/BC-UBND concerning the erection of a B40 mesh iron frame fence on public land adjacent to the Bac Canal by Ms. Nguyen Thi Tam to the People's Committee of Vinh City. In Report No. 89, the People's Committee of Ha Huy Tap Ward determined that Ms. Tam's unauthorized expansion of 6 square meters of land violated construction regulations; however, they argued that the temporary fence did not affect the road boundary, sidewalk, or adjacent land plots and served a suitable purpose; therefore, they requested the People's Committee of Vinh City to provide guidance and facilitate the temporary use of the 6 square meters of land by Ms. Nguyen Thi Tam's family as a playground for children.

According to officials from the Vinh City Urban Management Department, city leaders instructed department staff to conduct on-site inspections. The inspection confirmed that the content of Report No. 89 from the Ha Huy Tap Ward People's Committee was accurate. On September 1st, the City People's Committee held a meeting with relevant parties and subsequently requested the Ha Huy Tap Ward People's Committee to hold a meeting with residents of Block 1 to gather their opinions. On the evening of September 4th, the Block 8 Committee of Ha Huy Tap Ward held a meeting with residents of Block 1 (17 out of 23 households attended). At the meeting, it was determined that Ms. Tam's expanded area was 6 square meters; it was agreed that Ms. Tam's borrowing of the land would not affect urban aesthetics or the daily lives of the residents, and would also provide children with additional playground space. When a vote was taken on allowing Ms. Tam to borrow the land, 10 out of 17 households agreed; 3 out of 17 households disagreed; and 2 out of 17 households requested that the authorities make the decision. 2 out of 17 households did not express an opinion. The Block 8 Party Committee and its members (5 of whom attended the meeting) unanimously agreed to propose that the authorities at all levels consider allowing Ms. Nguyen Thi Tam to borrow the land.

According to Mr. Hoang Van Nam, a resident of Group 1, leaving 6 square meters of land vacant and unmanaged only spoils the overall aesthetics. Therefore, the vast majority of residents find Ms. Nguyen Thi Tam's request justified and sympathize with her actions. "In fact, after Ms. Tam built the fence, the overall landscape looks much better," said Mr. Hoang Van Nam.

On-site, the land expansion by Ms. Nguyen Thi Tam's family does not affect the road boundaries, sidewalks, or surrounding plots; moreover, it contributes to the overall aesthetic appeal. Furthermore, this expanded plot of land is intended to enlarge the playground for children, as Ms. Tam had requested. However, it must be affirmed that Ms. Nguyen Thi Tam's actions violate the law. Ms. Nguyen Thi Tam's violation includes some responsibility on the part of the Ha Huy Tap ward authorities. According to the records and some relevant officials, before expanding and building the fence, Ms. Nguyen Thi Tam had submitted a petition and proposal. Ideally, upon receiving Ms. Tam's petition, the Ha Huy Tap ward authorities should have considered and responded thoroughly in writing. If "legalizing" the expansion was impossible, then Ms. Tam's proposal to "borrow land" should also have been clearly addressed. It is precisely this lack of clarity and decisiveness that leads to mistakes and causes citizens to file complaints.

According to our investigation, when the North Canal road and sidewalk project was constructed, there were many small, surplus plots of land interspersed within residential areas on both sides of the project, within the Ha Huy Tap ward. Due to the need to open a road to the North Canal, many households wished to legalize these small surplus plots of land as part of their land holdings; among these, some households committed violations by illegally expanding their properties. Therefore, following the citizens' petition sent to Nghe An Newspaper, the Ha Huy Tap ward authorities need to learn from this experience to strengthen land management, especially regarding vacant land in the area. Given that the North Canal construction narrowed compared to the previous plan (previously planned as a 7m wide road, now implemented as a 3m wide road), further research and a proposal to the competent authorities are needed to request a revision of the plan. Only by doing this can we concretize the people's desire to legalize vacant land plots, and thereby facilitate land management in the area.

Text and photos:Ha Giang