Proposal not to build more small hydropower plants in Western Nghe An

Ms. Lo Thi Kim Ngan - Head of the Ethnic Committee of the Provincial People's Council chaired the meeting. Attending the meeting were Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Council Hoang Viet Duong and representatives of relevant departments, branches and sectors. Photo: Hoai Thu

Through the supervision of the Provincial People's Council's Ethnic Committee and meetings with voters at all levels, people in mountainous districts mainly reflected on the inadequate electricity and water supply; the situation of buying, selling and transporting poultry with the risk of spreading disease still occurred.

People in mountainous areas also reflect on the consequences of hydropower projects on indigenous people; request the recovery, allocation of land, management of forestry land, land used by mountainous commercial companies, and pharmaceutical companies for the wrong purposes; support vocational training for people...

At the meeting, regarding the contents of voters' recommendations and People's Council's supervision of hydropower projects in mountainous districts, Deputy Director of the Department of Industry and Trade Nguyen Huy Cuong said that the whole province still has 233 villages, hamlets and Mat island without grid electricity; of which 47 villages and hamlets are being studied to supply electricity by other energy sources.

The Department of Industry and Trade has also coordinated with districts, cities and towns to make a list of priorities for implementing electricity supply investment. However, Mr. Cuong also commented that the roadmap to 2020 to bring grid electricity to the remaining 186 villages and hamlets without electricity is very difficult to achieve, even though the Ministry of Industry and Trade has approved the investment project.

Regarding the people's request not to develop small hydropower projects, the Department of Industry and Trade expressed agreement and sent a document to the Provincial People's Committee to approve this content.

Hua Na Hydroelectric Plant. Photo courtesy

Some other opinions from representatives of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Department of Natural Resources and Environment responded to the recommendations of each locality on the recovery of agricultural and forestry land to hand over to people in Quy Chau and Que Phong; the conversion of the purpose of use of some areas of exhausted protective forests to be contracted to households in Ky Son...

Regarding the contents of voters' recommendations, the Ethnic Council of the Provincial People's Council requests the Provincial People's Committee and relevant departments and branches to increase attention, support, handling and resolution; at the same time, requests the Provincial People's Committee to review some specific contents that are still stuck and have not been completely resolved.

The Ethnic Committee of the Provincial People's Council has carried out 4 monitoring topics, including: Management of enrollment and implementation of policies for teachers and students of ethnic boarding schools; implementation of policies for ethnic minority cadres, civil servants and public employees; implementation of policies on supporting production development for especially disadvantaged communes, border communes, and safe zone communes under Program 135 in the province from 2014 to 2016; implementation of policies on dissemination, legal education and legal aid for ethnic minorities in areas with especially difficult socio-economic conditions from 2013 to present.

Giving opinions on the implementation of the following contents under the supervision of the Ethnic Committee of the Provincial People's Council, representatives of the departments and branches: Natural Resources and Environment, Industry and Trade, Agriculture and Rural Development, Education and Training, Planning and Investment, leaders of Ky Son district, the Provincial People's Committee gave specific opinions and recommendations to relevant levels and branches to pay attention to and resolve the contents of voters' recommendations and the supervision issues of the Ethnic Committee of the Provincial People's Council.