Delayed handover of emergency resettlement project in Vinh City

Urgent project but construction has not been completed for 10 years

Up to this point, it can be affirmed that the emergency resettlement project for flooded areas outside the dike of Hung Hoa commune is one of theslowest migration projectin Vinh city, because the project was approved in 2011-2012, but it was not until 2020 that there was funding to implement it.

Accordingly, the State invested a total of 36.6 billion VND, of which the central budget allocated 25.6 billion VND and the local budget allocated 10.9 billion VND to level 3.309 hectares in Thuan Hoa hamlet, right on the opposite side of the Lam River dike, to build a concentrated resettlement area, and relocate 58 households in Hoa Lam hamlet to live there without paying any fees.

Mr. Le Van Luong - Head of the Provincial Rural Development Department (the project investor) said: The project has existed sinceLaw on Public Investmentnot yet launched so no resources were allocated. Entering the 2020 - 2025 period, with great efforts, the project was re-approved, on that basis, construction was started and by 2022 it was basically completed.

Initially, the project only organized the relocation of 58 households in Hoa Lam hamlet living outside the dike, but due to slow implementation and up to now, 24 more households have been added, so instead of completing, the project had to add phase 2 to invest in more infrastructure to arrange resettlement land for 24 more households.

The representative of the Provincial Department of Rural Development also confirmed: With the completed investment in phase 1 infrastructure, the project can be handed over to the Vinh City People's Committee to organize for 58 affected households to receive land to build houses.

However, due to the project's requirement to relocate all households to ensure safety, on the one hand, the Project Management Board is completing procedures to request investment in phase 2 to ensure resettlement land for 24 newly-arrived households; on the other hand, to facilitate the resettlement of households, the Project Management Board is completing procedures to submit to the Road Administration Department II (Ministry of Transport) to open a guardrail (a type of protective railing) connecting the road to the resettlement area to National Highway 46C (the road along the Lam River).

Currently, the Project Management Board is submitting the 1/500 planning phase 2 to Vinh City People's Committee for approval, then will establish a pre-feasibility and feasibility plan for construction, striving to complete and hand over in 2023.

From the practical implementation of the project, it is shown that the concentrated resettlement project for people in flooded areas outside the dike of Hoa Lam hamlet (now Thuan Hoa hamlet) was originally called emergency resettlement and relocation, but due to lack of timely capital resources, the construction time was too slow and prolonged. Although it was complicated and costly due to the addition of 24 affected households requiring land allocation, but based on the humanitarian nature of the project, the Central and the province continued to pay attention and support additional capital to ensure enough resettlement land for 82 affected households.

New difficulties arise

Talking to us, Mr. Tran Cao Cuong - Chairman of Hung Hoa Commune People's Committee said: Up to this point, the locality has not received information about accepting the project to divide land for people and organize relocation. However, through the information known, Vinh City People's Committee has established a working group and assigned specialized departments to advise on a handling plan. Based on the project requirements and ensuring the safety of the people of Hoa Lam hamlet, the locality also hopes that if the project is completed, it must organize for people to receive land to build houses and bring people to live safely every time there is a storm, rising water causes flooding.

Studying this project as well as some projects that have to urgently evacuate people from flooded and landslide areas, we found a difficulty for the local disaster prevention and control command. According to Decision 176/QD-TTg on support for relocation costs, households when urgently evacuating from dangerous areas are only supported with relocation costs of 20 million VND/household. The above support level was issued in 2012 and is now announced to be no longer valid.

The Prime Minister has re-decentralized the development of new support levels to localities, but the province has not yet issued regulations, making it difficult for localities to implement and mobilize people. Talking to us, households in the flooded area of ​​Hoa Lam hamlet (Hung Hoa) and the landslide area at the foot of Dung Quyet mountain in blocks 1, 2, 3 of Trung Do ward all said: Although they know that living in their old place is dangerous and unsafe. The households also understand that the city's resettlement is for the safety of the people, but if they move, they will not have money to build houses, because the State's relocation support is only enough to pay for transportation.

On the other hand, through research, it is known that currently in cases of forced emergency relocation to another place, people are given land at the new place without paying any money, but the law does not have any regulations on whether to reclaim or return the old land or not. This leads to a reality, if people receive land at the new place but still stay at the old place and when storms cause dangerous consequences, how will they be handled and how will they be held responsible?

Mr. Tran Quang Lam - Vice Chairman of the People's Committee, Deputy Permanent Member of the Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Rescue of Vinh City said: This is also a newly arising situation that the city must consider and calculate to have a solution.

In addition to the above difficulties, according to a household in Hoa Lam hamlet, Hung Hoa commune, they are concerned that while people are resettled for key traffic infrastructure projects such as the extended Nguyen Sy Sach road, Que Hoa road connecting National Highway 46C through the administrative center of Hung Hoa commune with Nguyen Sy Sach road andEcopark urban area in Hung Hoa, if the land has been granted a certificate of land use rights, when it is recovered, resettlement land will be arranged equivalent to the recovered land area. However, in Hoa Lam hamlet outside the dike, there are households that have been granted a certificate of land use rights, so they are wondering what the compensation plan will be when they move to the emergency resettlement area in Hoa Thuan hamlet?

Mr. Le Van Luong - Head of the Rural Sub-Department added: During the project survey and construction process, the Project Management Board has collected and calculated the above contents, so it has proposed to arrange resettlement land for 58 households in phase 1 and 24 households in phase 2. Currently, as the investor, the Sub-Department is focusing on implementing the project according to the approved plan and content; after implementation, it will be handed over to the city for consideration of dividing plots and arranging resettlement land. Currently, Vinh city has established a working group to consult and research, so there will certainly be a suitable handling plan, ensuring the rights of the people./.