This refers to the results achieved between Tuong Duong district and the five hydropower plants in the area following the meeting on June 14th.
The content of this meeting had already been reported in the press, but according to Notice No. 115/TB-UBND dated June 16, 2022, from the People's Committee of Tuong Duong District, there is a welcome new development. This new development is that the five hydropower plants have agreed on the specific amount they will contribute annually to Tuong Duong District for social welfare work and to assist the people in the reservoir areas of the hydropower plants.
Notice No. 115/TB-UBND clearly states: “Annually, the District Fatherland Front Committee, in coordination with the District People's Committee, develops a plan for implementing social welfare work (clearly showing the purpose, requirements, content of the areas needing support, the amount of funding for each hydropower plant; and the organization of implementation). Based on the district's plan, the investors of the hydropower plants are responsible for approving the implementation contents at the end of the year: the amount of funding for social welfare work each year is equal to the amount of funding implemented in 2021. For Ban Ve Hydropower Plant, it is 400 million VND; for Khe Bo Hydropower Plant, it is 135 million VND; for Xoong Con Hydropower Plant and Nam Non, Ban Ang Hydropower Plants, it is 5 million VND/MW. The money for social welfare work is transferred to the account of the District Fatherland Front Committee at the beginning of the year for the district to implement. The content of social welfare work is one of the contents specified in the Regulations "Coordination mechanism between the District People's Committee and the investors of hydropower plants."
With a commitment of 5 million VND/MW, the Xoóng Con Hydropower Plant (15MW) will contribute 75 million VND/year; the Nậm Nơn Hydropower Plant (20MW) will contribute 100 million VND/year; and the Bản Ang Hydropower Plant (17MW) will contribute 85 million VND/year. Together with the 400 million VND contribution from the Bản Vẽ Hydropower Plant (320MW) and the 135 million VND contribution from the Khe Bố Hydropower Plant (100MW), the total annual budget for social welfare activities for people in the hydropower reservoir area of Tương Dương district will be 795 million VND.
Regarding the hydropower plants in Tuong Duong, several long-standing issues remain that need to be thoroughly resolved. This is especially true for the Ban Ve and Khe Bo hydropower plants. Specifically, these include: the handover of the construction site area for the Ban Ve hydropower plant; and the issues related to flood relief in 2018 as per Notice No. 143/TB-VPCP dated April 13, 2019, from the Government Office, which summarizes the conclusions of Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung at the meeting on resolving post-flood issues in 2018. The outstanding issues and obstacles in the compensation, support, and resettlement work for the Ban Ve Hydropower Project and Notice No. 371/TB-EVN dated September 23, 2019, of the Vietnam Electricity Group regarding the conclusions of the meeting of Deputy General Director Nguyen Tai Anh with the Provincial People's Committee on supporting the stabilization of people's lives after the 2018 floods and resolving outstanding issues and obstacles in the compensation, support, and resettlement work for the Ban Ve Hydropower Project; the implementation of increasing the density of boundary markers and adjusting the reservoir boundary, adjusting the detailed planning at a scale of 1/500 for resettlement areas to serve the land allocation and issuance of land use right certificates to people in 7 related villages of the Khe Bo Hydropower Project; providing cadastral documents to serve the preparation of land use right certificate applications for households partially affected by flooding of the Khe Bo Hydropower Reservoir; the dredging plan for the Khe Bo Hydropower Reservoir…
Regarding the lives of the majority of people living around the reservoirs of hydroelectric power plants in Tuong Duong, there are still countless difficulties and hardships. Every year, especially during the rainy season and floods, there is always a hidden risk of property damage, and even loss of life. Therefore, frankly speaking, the amount of 795 million VND is not large. In fact, it is not commensurate with what the people of Tuong Duong have contributed to the hydroelectric power plants; it is not commensurate with the capacity of hydroelectric power plants that generate hundreds or thousands of billions of VND per year!
But the positive and encouraging aspect of this new approach is that, right from the beginning of the year, Tuong Duong district has secured funding to proactively implement social welfare work according to the plan; to proactively handle and resolve situations involving risks, natural disasters, storms, and floods… Above all, it has created consensus between the Party committee, the government, the Fatherland Front, and political and social organizations with the hydropower units. They are all looking in the same direction, working together to help the people in the reservoir areas of the hydropower plants!
