Need to consider resolving citizens' rights at the Electricity Construction Board Collective Area

Unfair?

In mid-November 2018, Nghe An Newspaper received a petition from Mr. Cao Huu Chinh, residing in the Electricity Construction Board Collective Area, in residential group 9, block 13, Truong Thi ward, Vinh city, complaining about land acquisition, compensation and resettlement for the Truong Thi Primary School expansion project.

According to the petition, Mr. Cao Huu Chinh was a former officer of the Electricity Department. In 1987, the Electricity Department valued a collective house at the Electricity Construction Board Collective Area at VND17,000. Because his family had many members, at the same time he bought an additional adjacent collective house from his colleague, Mr. Nguyen The Quang, to increase the usable area (Mr. Quang's house was also valued by the Electricity Department).

Mr. Chinh's extended family petitioned to be given 2 resettlement plots of land. Photo: Nhat Lan

In 1993, Mr. Chinh's family had 7 people, including: Mr. Chinh and his wife, 2 children, Mr. Chinh's parents and younger brother Cao Tien Nam (born in 1965). In 1995, Mr. Cao Tien Nam married Ms. Dang Thi Xuan (residing in Block 5, Ben Thuy Ward). Because he had no place to live, Mr. Chinh let his younger brother and his wife stay in the house he bought from Mr. Nguyen The Quang.

When the Vinh City People's Committee reclaimed the land of the Electricity Construction Board Residential Area to implement the project to expand Truong Thi Primary School, Mr. Chinh was given a compensation plan by the City Land Fund Development Center for the value of assets on the land and land of more than 1.097 billion VND. Regarding housing rental support and relocation support, the Center determined that Mr. Chinh's family consisted of 2 households, 8 people, with a total cost of 24 million VND. However, only 1 resettlement land plot was considered, although Mr. Chinh had repeatedly requested to be granted 2 resettlement plots.

Also in the petition, Mr. Chinh informed that in the Collective Housing Area, there are Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Linh's household and Mr. Nguyen Trong Ha's household, who are not officials or employees of the Electricity Department, and are not allowed to buy houses at a discounted price, but they illegally built houses and were still compensated and given resettlement land. Among them, Mr. Linh was the one who rented the collective housing; after the owner took back the house, he occupied the land in the collective housing area to build a house. As for Mr. Ha, he came to live in his brother's house, then occupied the land to build his own house next to his brother's house.

To verify the information stated in the application, Mr. Chinh provided all relevant documents and papers. These showed that he had a certificate of collective house purchase, a certificate of collective house sale from Mr. Nguyen The Quang...

In fact, at the Electricity Construction Board Collective Area, Mr. Chinh's family has 3 generations living together in 2 collective houses. This is also shown in the Minutes of determining compensation value made by the Land Fund Development Center on May 8, 2018 for the head of the household Cao Huu Chinh (including 2 households, 8 people). Mr. Chinh said that he wrote a petition to present his wishes, provided related documents... but was not considered.

Narrow entrance at the Electricity Construction Board's housing area. Photo: Nhat Lan

In the written response to the petition, the City Land Fund Development Center stated that there was no more resettlement land, so it would not allocate his family an additional resettlement plot. At the end of September 2018, he filed a complaint to the City People's Committee. On October 1, 2018, the Chairman of the City People's Committee issued a document assigning functional departments, the Land Fund Development Center, and the People's Committee of Truong Thi Ward to inspect and report their opinions so that the City People's Committee could respond to the citizen. But so far, there has been no response...

Mr. Cao Huu Chinh said: “We are two families, living in two collective houses with a receipt for payment, with a legitimate need for residential land but were not given two resettlement plots. Meanwhile, two families who “parachuted” to occupy land and illegally built in the collective area were compensated for resettlement. This is completely unreasonable. Unfair...”.

Need to resolve once and for all

According to the representative of the People's Committee of Truong Thi Ward, in the land acquisition for the expansion project of Truong Thi Primary School, the ward government only verified and made a list of households living in the Electricity Construction Board Collective Area. The implementation of compensation, support and resettlement policies is carried out by the City Land Fund Development Center.

For Mr. Cao Huu Chinh's household, the current land use status has been approved by the Department of Natural Resources and Environment with an area of ​​68.7m2 (plot number 14); of which 39.9m2 was purchased for a house and 28.8m2 was expanded outside the area of ​​the land. The origin of land use was also determined to be that the Department of Electricity had converted the land in 1987 and bought the collective house of Mr. Nguyen The Quang in 1987; in addition, the expanded area was also determined to be from after 1980 to before October 15, 1993.

“Truong Thi Ward made a list of households according to the current land use status. When Mr. Cao Huu Chinh made a request, the ward instructed him to submit a request to the Land Fund Development Center for consideration and settlement according to regulations...” - a representative of the People's Committee of Truong Thi Ward discussed.

According to the representative of the City Land Fund Development Center, up to now, the Vinh City People's Committee has only approved the compensation plan and support for site clearance to implement the project to expand Truong Thi Primary School; it has not yet approved the resettlement plan. Recently, due to complaints from some households in the apartment complex, the city leaders directed the establishment of a working group to inspect and verify. Currently, the working group is performing its duties.

Question: In the support plan, the Center determined that Mr. Chinh's household consisted of 2 households and 8 people, so why not consider giving them 2 resettlement plots? The representative explained that when making the compensation and support plan, after checking, it was determined that Mr. Cao Huu Chinh's land plot consisted of 2 households and 8 people. Based on this reality, the Center made a support plan and it was approved by the superiors.

Regarding the resettlement land allocation, the Center has verified that in 2004, Mr. Cao Huu Chinh's younger brother, Mr. Cao Tien Nam, moved out of the collective housing area; it was not until 2016 that he brought his family back to live temporarily in the collective housing area. Currently, Mr. Nam's household registration is in Ben Thuy ward, while his temporary residence in Truong Thi ward. Therefore, it is determined that this household is not subject to the resettlement policy.

Regarding the two cases of Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Linh and Mr. Nguyen Trong Ha, the Center and the People's Committee of Truong Thi Ward also clarified that they were not the subjects whose collective housing prices were adjusted by the Electricity Department, but they arbitrarily expanded and built houses in the collective housing area. Therefore, these two cases were only compensated for the assets on the land, not for the land. Regarding resettlement, according to the provisions of the law, they are still considered for settlement.

Resettlement area of ​​the Electricity Construction Board. Photo: Nhat Lan

The representative further discussed: Mr. Cao Huu Chinh's household is expected to be assigned resettlement land lot No. 22, with an area of ​​98.6m2, larger than the recovered area of ​​68.7m2. In addition, the resettlement land fund for the Electricity Construction Board's housing area in Block 3, Truong Thi Ward is no longer available. Therefore, when Mr. Cao Huu Chinh submitted a petition, the Center responded in writing, stating the view that if Mr. Chinh had complete documents to buy 2 houses at a discount, he would be compensated for the land, but would not be assigned an additional residential land lot.

However, the Center will wait for the conclusion of the working group after verifying and handling the complaint, including the complaint of Mr. Cao Huu Chinh. Only then will the Center finalize the resettlement plan to submit to the City People's Committee for appraisal and approval...

Checking the compensation and support records for site clearance to implement the project to expand Truong Thi Primary School, the information related to the households of Mr. Cao Huu Chinh, Nguyen Ngoc Linh, and Nguyen Trong Ha is basically as discussed by the representative of the City Land Fund Development Center.

However, there are concerns. That is, Mr. Chinh’s household consists of 3 generations living together for many years, not a new development. Therefore, since 1987, Mr. Chinh bought an additional apartment to increase the living space; currently, Mr. Chinh has full documents for buying the house at a discount, and also owns two apartment buildings.

Mr. Cao Tien Nam - younger brother of Mr. Cao Huu Chinh, although he was identified to have moved his household registration to Ben Thuy ward in 2004, and only returned with his family to temporarily reside in 2016, he was also a resident of the collective housing area before; currently he still has no house or land... These things show that Mr. Cao Huu Chinh's extended family really has a need for residential land; his request to allocate 2 resettlement plots of land is well-founded and needs to be considered and resolved in a reasonable manner!