Land that has not yet been allocated for use will not be compensated.

(Baonghean)In a letter sent to the Nghe An newspaper, Ms. Luong Thi Hoa, residing in Bac Thang hamlet (Tan Thang commune), stated that she had not received adequate compensation for her land, yet the commune's People's Committee still allowed the pineapple processing plant to operate...

Speaking to reporters, Ms. Luong Thi Hoa stated: In 1995, her family was contracted to manage and protect 28.7 hectares of land in the Vuc Mau headwater forest. Now, this land has been transferred to a pineapple processing plant, but her family has not received compensation as stipulated by the Land Law, yet the Tan Thang Commune People's Committee still allows the plant to operate. At 9:00 AM on April 8, 2013, when her son saw a tractor entering her family's land, he tried to stop it but was beaten unconscious by a commune police officer (named Ninh)...

Lo Van Hoang (Hoa's son) pointed to the plot of land his family had previously leased.

We learned that in 1995, several families in Quynh Thang commune, Quynh Luu district (now Tan Thang commune, Quynh Luu district) applied for forest land to protect and cultivate the Vuc Mau headwater forest in Quynh Luu district. The Vuc Mau Protective Forest Project Board in Quynh Luu district then signed contracts granting them land with natural forest and vegetation requiring protection within the Vuc Mau protective forest for a period of 50 years.

However, on May 16, 2003, the Provincial People's Committee issued Decision No. 1805/QD-UBND.NN on converting the Northwest Quynh Luu Special-Use Forest (Northern Nghe An) to protection and production forest; converting some forest land areas to agricultural production land and other purposes; and at the same time, Nghe An Food Processing Joint Stock Company submitted an application to lease land in the area of ​​land conversion under Decision 1805/QD-UBND to grow pineapples for raw materials. Based on the land lease application of Nghe An Food Processing Joint Stock Company, on July 26, 2006, the Provincial People's Committee issued Decision No. 476/QD-UBND-DC on the revocation of land from Tan Thang Commune People's Committee and Decision No. 477/QD-UBND-DC on leasing an area of ​​1,461,088 m2 (146.1 ha) of land in Tan Thang Commune to Nghe An Food Processing Joint Stock Company.

During the process of determining the land's origin when leasing it to Nghe An Food Processing Joint Stock Company, the People's Committee of Tan Thang Commune and the People's Committee of Quynh Luu District determined that this land had not been allocated to any organization or individual for use, therefore no compensation plan was drawn up. This is because the aforementioned land area, at the time of 1995, was actually protective forest land. Six families, including Mrs. Hoa's family, only received contracts to manage and protect the protective forest, and annually received payment for protection services from the Vuc Mau Protective Forest Management Board under the Quynh Luu Forest Ranger Station according to the contract and agreement signed with the Vuc Mau Protective Forest Project Management Board.

This land area is managed by the Vuc Mau Protective Forest Management Board under the Quynh Luu Forest Ranger District, and is not land that has been allocated to Ms. Hoa for use according to the law. This means that no competent state agency has yet allocated this forest land to Ms. Hoa's family. Therefore, Ms. Hoa's family, as well as other households, are not eligible for land compensation from the state.

Speaking with us, Mr. Lang Dinh Liem, Vice Chairman of the Tan Thang Commune People's Committee, said: According to Decree 163, land is compensated for both the land itself and the yield from the land. However, this is land contracted for forest protection, so only the cost of guarding and protecting the forest is paid. Based on State regulations, the district has directly paid the forest protection and cultivation fees to the households up to the time of contract termination, and Ms. Hoa's family has received the remaining amount of 18.8 million VND.

Regarding Ms. Hoa's claim that the commune police beat her son (Lô Văn Hoàng), Mr. Lang Đình Liêm stated: After receiving Ms. Hoa's complaint, the commune formed a team to verify the incident. However, due to insufficient witness testimony and the fact that Mr. Ninh is currently in the South and has not yet returned, the verification process has not been completed. In a phone conversation with Mr. Ninh, he said, "I didn't beat him, I only told him to come home. He panicked and cried."

Therefore, Ms. Hoa's claim that her family has not received "land compensation at the state-determined price" is unfounded. However, the authorities of Tan Thang commune, Quynh Luu district, need to promptly verify and clarify Ms. Hoa's accusation that a commune police officer beat her son unconscious, and reach a clear conclusion on whether this is true or false. If assault did occur, it must be dealt with according to the law to avoid prolonged disputes...

Text and photos: Dang Nguyen