People got their money and land back after Nghe An Newspaper reported that the commune demanded 'support' money before signing the confirmation.

On June 21, Mr. Luong Dinh Tien's family (Tam Bong village, Tam Quang commune) said that they had received 40 million VND returned by Tam Dinh commune (Tuong Duong district). In addition, Mr. Tien was also granted a Land Use Rights Certificate for the remaining land located on the flooded area of ​​Khe Bo hydropower plant.

Mr. Luong Dinh Tien. Photo: Tien Hung

Mr. Tien is a character in the article."Nghe An: People have to pay money to sign a confirmation of land origin to receive compensation from hydropower plants?"of Nghe An Newspaper published on May 5.

In 1998, Tuong Duong district assigned him 13.3 hectares of land for 50 years. In 2006, 7 hectares of this land were confiscated to build Khe Bo hydropower plant. However, Mr. Tien did not receive compensation for this land. After many years of complaints, he learned that the reason for not being compensated was because the land was re-divided into Tam Dinh commune. Meanwhile, the Chairman of Tam Dinh commune People's Committee and the Head of the village management board refused to sign to confirm the origin of the land.

In exchange for these two signatures, Tam Dinh Commune asked Mr. Tien to return the remaining 6.3 hectares of land on the flood plain. However, although Mr. Tien had submitted a return request, the Chairman of the Commune People's Committee as well as the Village Management Board still refused to sign the confirmation. Tam Dinh Commune then asked Mr. Tien to "support" him before he would sign. After many negotiations, Tam Dinh Commune agreed to reduce the amount to 40 million VND.

Khe Bo Hydropower Plant. Photo: Tien Hung

Tuong Duong District Party Secretary Nguyen Van Hai said that Mr. Luong Dinh Tien had previously met him directly and expressed his concerns. Mr. Hai then directed relevant agencies to promptly resolve this case. “However, due to the low awareness of grassroots officials, Mr. Tien had to pay 40 million VND to sign a confirmation to receive compensation.”

On the same day that Nghe An Newspaper published the article, the Secretary of Tuong Duong District Party Committee directly worked with Mr. Luong Dinh Tien and related officials. Mr. Hai then directed the Dinh Tien Village Management Board to immediately return the 40 million VND. Regarding the 6.3 hectares of land on the flooded area, Mr. Hai also directed the relevant agencies to complete the procedures according to Mr. Tien's wishes.

Sharing with Nghe An Newspaper reporter, Mr. Nguyen Van Hai said that before the district assigned land to Mr. Tien, this land area belonged to Tam Quang commune. But after the administrative boundary was redefined, this land belonged to Tam Dinh commune.

“In the land lease decision issued by Tuong Duong district before, this land belonged to another locality, then this area merged into Tam Dinh, so the cadres should have been responsible for converting and changing the name for Mr. Tien. But the cadres did not do it, then said there was no basis to sign to confirm the origin of the land. Then they used that as an excuse to pressure Mr. Tien. In the recent meeting, I also had to be strict, even saying 'if you continue to do it like this, I will let the police investigate to clarify whether there is any coercion to pay money or not'”, the District Party Secretary said.

In addition, according to Mr. Hai, regarding this land, Tam Dinh commune was completely wrong when it gave Mr. Tien's land to other households to cultivate on top of. "When I concluded and directed to return the money and land to Mr. Tien, he was very happy. Mr. Tien was very disadvantaged when it took many years to receive compensation," Secretary Hai said.