Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Duc Trung periodically receives citizens in March 2023

Overview of the regular citizen reception session in March 2023 of Provincial People's Committee Chairman Nguyen Duc Trung. Photo: Pham Bang

Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Duc Trung received Ms. Tran Thi Hong (resident of Block 11, Trung Do Ward, Vinh City). Ms. Hong requested the competent authority to resolve the issue of granting Land Use Right Certificates to 8 households at land plot 77, Nguyen Du Street, Block 12, Trung Do Ward.

Chairman of Vinh City People's Committee Tran Ngoc Tu said that the land plot at 77 Nguyen Du Street has an area of ​​7,430m2, and was assigned by Nghe Tinh Provincial People's Committee to the Department of Culture and Sports for management. In 1986, Ben Thuy Hotel (next to the land plot) requested to build a temporary kiosk with an area of ​​63m2 on the land to serve the Congress and was approved by the Provincial People's Committee. In 1994, the hotel liquidated the kiosk and handed it over to Ms. Hoa (hotel employee). However, in the handover minutes, the hotel handed over both the land and assets on the land.

Ms. Tran Thi Hong, resident of block 11, Trung Do ward, Vinh city, presented the petition. Photo: Pham Bang

In 2000, the Folk Theater (under the Department of Culture and Sports) leased 600 square meters to a company for business and built 4 kiosks on the land. Ms. Hoa's family then built 5 more kiosks, of which Ms. Hong contributed capital to build 1 kiosk. In 2014, the Vinh City People's Committee requested the Folk Theater to stop leasing land illegally and in 2018, the Vinh City People's Committee established a compensation plan to clear the site for these kiosks. 8 households with kiosks received more than 1 billion VND in land clearance money and committed to demolishing the site, but some households did not comply.

In 2020, Ms. Hong submitted a request for land compensation, Vinh City People's Committee resolved the complaint but the citizen did not agree. In 2022, Vinh City People's Committee reviewed the case file and found that the compensation and site clearance plan in 2018 was not in accordance with regulations.

Chairman of Vinh City People's Committee Tran Ngoc Tu reports on the results of handling citizens' petitions. Photo: Pham Bang

Chairman of Vinh City People's Committee Tran Ngoc Tu said that this land is under the management of the Folk Song Theater under the Department of Culture and Sports, so the Ben Thuy Hotel's handover of the land to the households is not in accordance with regulations. In addition, there are signs of editing the records to change the land area in the decision of Vinh City. Therefore, the request of 8 households regarding the issuance of Land Use Right Certificates has no basis for resolution.

Director of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment Hoang Quoc Viet also confirmed that this land is under the management of a state agency, so according to regulations, public assets must be arranged according to Decree 167. The handover of land and assets on the land of Ben Thuy Hotel to households at that time was not in accordance with regulations. Based on the records, it is confirmed that there are not enough conditions to grant Land Use Rights Certificates to 8 households, because this is land managed by a state agency and is not in accordance with planning.

Director of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment speaks at the public reception session. Photo: Pham Bang

After listening to the citizens' petitions, opinions of the Vinh City People's Committee and the Department of Natural Resources and Environment, and concluding on how to resolve the case, Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Duc Trung affirmed that through the process of determining the origin and usage, it was found that the land was under the management of a state agency, now used by the Provincial Traditional Arts Center. Ben Thuy Hotel does not have the authority to sell to households.

This is also not a land area subject to land acquisition by the State when implementing the project and the compensation is not in accordance with regulations. Therefore, there is not enough and no basis to consider granting Land Use Rights Certificates to 8 households.

Vinh City People's Committee has resolved the citizen's petition for the first time in accordance with regulations. If the citizen does not agree, he/she can request Vinh City People's Committee to consider resolving it for the second time. If the citizen does not agree, he/she can file a lawsuit in court. In addition, the Provincial Traditional Arts Center can also file a lawsuit against the citizen in court for the act of occupying public land.

Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Duc Trung concluded the direction to resolve citizens' petitions. Photo: Pham Bang

Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Duc Trung assigned the Department of Culture and Sports to preside over and coordinate with the Department of Finance, Department of Natural Resources and Environment, and Vinh City People's Committee to review the rearrangement of public assets of this land. On that basis, calculate compensation for site clearance for households (if any) in accordance with legal regulations on the use of public assets.

Next, Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Duc Trung received Ms. Nguyen Thi Dong and Mr. Nguyen Van Duong (residing in Mau Don hamlet, Hung Loc commune, Vinh city). These citizens requested the competent authority to consider and reduce land use fees when processing applications for land use right certificates for the Thanh Nghe Tinh Food Joint Stock Company's collective housing area for households.

The Thanh Nghe Tinh Food Joint Stock Company's housing complex has an area of ​​772 square meters, with 17 apartments. In 2010, the Provincial People's Committee decided to add this housing complex to Project 109 on resolving housing complexes in Vinh City. During the implementation process, Vinh City discovered that some households were falsifying invoices and documents proving the company's asset valuation, so it was stopped.

Citizen Nguyen Thi Dong, residing in Mau Don hamlet, Hung Loc commune, Vinh city, presented the petition. Photo: Pham Bang

After that, Vinh City People's Committee sent a document requesting the Provincial People's Committee to approve the allocation of land without auction to families in collective housing areas with land use fees. Based on that, 12/17 households met the conditions, while 5 households could not provide documents, so there was not enough basis for consideration.

By December 2021, the Provincial People's Committee authorized the Vinh City People's Committee to approve land prices in this area at VND 52 million/m2. Households found the land prices high and asked for a reduction in land use fees. However, after reviewing the grounds, Vinh City's view is not to change the price.

Director of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment Hoang Quoc Viet assessed that, through checking the records, the decision to approve land prices of Vinh City in the residential area ensured the correct procedures and legal regulations and is currently in effect. The households' request to consider and adjust the land use fee reduction is inappropriate and has no basis for resolution.

Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Duc Trung concluded the direction to resolve citizens' petitions. Photo: Pham Bang

Concluding the direction of resolving citizens' petitions, Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Duc Trung shared with the households the prolonged time to apply for Land Use Right Certificates. One of the subjective reasons is that households have not paid attention and have not followed the regulations properly. Vinh City's resolution of citizens' petitions has been strictly in accordance with the regulations.

To ensure the legitimate rights of the people, the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee assigned the Department of Natural Resources and Environment to preside over and coordinate with the Department of Finance and related departments and branches to review the process of handling citizens' petitions of the Vinh City People's Committee. On that basis, notify the people, no later than April 15, 2023. After the notification, request the people to comply with financial obligations in accordance with regulations.

Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Duc Trung also received citizens Ngo Xuan Huy and Hoang Thi Loan (residing in Block 4, Dien Chau Town, Dien Chau District). These citizens requested the competent authority to resolve the legal rights to the land area of ​​the two families because it is located in the Dien Thanh residential and commercial service project.

Citizen Ngo Xuan Huy, residing in block 4, Dien Chau town, Dien Chau district, presented the petition. Photo: Pham Bang

The citizen stated that in 1994, two families bought two plots of land through an auction in Dien Thanh commune. It was not until 2019 that the family learned that the two plots of land had been reclaimed by the People's Committee of Dien Chau district to implement the Dien Thanh residential and commercial service project.

According to citizens, at that time, the People's Committee of Dien Chau district did not send a notice of land recovery and compensation plan to the two families. Later, based on the direction of the Provincial People's Committee, the People's Committee of Dien Chau district notified the two families that they would be resettled in another location, but this has not been done yet.

Chairman of Dien Chau District People's Committee Tang Van Luyen reports on the results of handling citizens' petitions. Photo: Pham Bang

At the meeting, Chairman of Dien Chau District People's Committee Tang Van Luyen confirmed that the content of the citizen's petition was correct and accepted responsibility, and apologized to the citizen. However, after reviewing the records and based on regulations, the district determined that these two households were not eligible for resettlement. The reason was that in Ms. Loan's case, she still had another plot of land in Hamlet 8, Dien Thanh Commune; in Mr. Huy's case, the land was currently unused and no house had been built.

Mr. Tang Van Luyen proposed two options to resolve citizens' petitions. Option 1, the investor of the Dien Thanh residential and commercial service project will leave each household with one adjacent apartment in the project where the rough house has been built, but citizens must pay for the rough construction. Option 2, citizens will receive money after deducting the rough construction cost. However, citizens disagree and request to be arranged for resettlement land in another area.

Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Duc Trung concluded the direction to resolve citizens' petitions. Photo: Pham Bang

Emphasizing that this is a project in the case of land acquisition, Director of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment Hoang Quoc Viet said that, based on Decision No. 24 dated February 14, 2022 of the Provincial People's Committee regulating compensation and resettlement, these two households will be compensated in money. If the locality has conditions for residential land and the families have a need for residential land, they will be arranged residential land plots but must pay land use fees, the arranged land area must not exceed the recovered land area.

Based on the opinions of the locality and the Department of Natural Resources and Environment, concluding the direction to resolve the case, Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Duc Trung assigned Dien Chau district to urgently develop a plan to implement procedures according to legal regulations to resolve the petition, ensuring the rights of citizens. The Department of Natural Resources and Environment and the Department of Construction guided Dien Chau district to comply with regulations, the deadline for resolution and report to citizens before April 30, 2023.