Resettlement of Hua Na Hydropower Plant: When party members go first

Up to this point, Que Phong has only relocated more than 200 households in the Hua Na Hydropower reservoir to the resettlement area. From now until the beginning of the rainy season next year, the district must relocate and resettle the remaining 1,100 households. This is a great pressure, requiring the active and decisive participation of not only the Compensation and Site Clearance Council, the investor but also the political system from the village level...

It has been more than 6 months since 92 households of Nong Danh village, Dong Van commune (Que Phong) moved to Pieng Cu resettlement area, the initially difficult life on the new land has temporarily stabilized. On the new land, along the internal planning road, the majestic stilt houses with bright red tiled roofs are close together. Pieng Cu is the first resettlement site among 16 Hua Na hydropower resettlement sites, so Que Phong district and Hua Na Hydropower Joint Stock Company (HHC) have determined to build it into a model resettlement site.

Households have stabilized their lives in Pieng Cu resettlement area.

Party cell secretary Luong Hong Khuyen and village chief Luong Van Hung recalled: The initial implementation of the resettlement work was also very difficult. To get people to agree and move together, the party cell held many meetings, did ideological work among party members first, and then from this group spread to the villagers. Thanks to that, in just a short time, 92 households in Noong Danh village agreed with the compensation plans and moved to the Pieng Cu resettlement area. As soon as they moved to their new place of residence, the households arranged their houses and implemented business plans so that their families could quickly stabilize their lives.

Luong Van Dung's family and Ha Van Thu's family continue to sell groceries to serve people's needs; Party Cell Secretary Luong Hong Khuyen's family has renovated the garden to grow vegetables, raise chickens and ducks... The first food support of 20 kg per person for 3 months according to Decision No. 2326/QD-UB of the Provincial People's Committee has really helped people solve the problem of food and focus on building houses.

In Pieng Cu, in addition to 92 households from Nong Danh village who have resettled, only 4/45 households from Pieng Pung village have resettled here. To support Pieng Pung households to quickly stabilize their lives in the new land, the Party cell and executive committee of Nong Danh village have directed some neighboring households to help people build houses and make roads leading to their houses.

Nong Danh village chief, Luong Van Hung said: "Now that the two villages have merged into one, the affairs of one village are also the affairs of the other. Only then can the resettlement area quickly stabilize and develop...". Que Phong district is also urging the rapid construction of a system of social welfare facilities such as schools, clinics and the reclamation of production land to distribute to the people.

Hua Na Hydropower Project has 1,326 households that must be relocated and resettled. Up to this point, only nearly 200 households in 3 villages Nong Danh, Pieng Pung and Huoi Muong have basically completed the compensation and support plan documents and the households have been and are moving to the resettlement site.

Thus, there are still more than 1,100 households that must relocate before the rainy season next year when the project officially begins to accumulate water. According to the report of the Compensation and Resettlement Council of the Hua Na Hydropower Project, up to now, 12/16 resettlement sites have been approved, of which 9 sites have started construction and are continuing to accelerate the progress of infrastructure construction, mainly including the traffic system, leveling,Water supply and electricity supply works... at resettlement areas have been started such as: Pieng Cu, Huoi Siu- Huoi Lan, Nam Nui- Nam Ke, Pu Sai Cang, Huoi Luom, Na Luom.

The current difficulty and problem that is affecting the resettlement progress of the project is that during the process of field inventory and compensation records, many households have been allocated forestry land according to Decree 163/1999/ND-CP of the Government but have transferred it to entities outside the area. However, the land records have not yet been adjusted for land changes according to regulations, causing difficulties for field inventory work, affecting the progress of land recovery records, as well as determining the subjects entitled to compensation for land use rights value.

On the other hand, for some villages, households have to relocate to many resettlement sites such as Loc, Na Quen, Pieng Pung villages, because they have to determine the land recovery plan for both the departure village and the resettlement site, it has caused difficulties and slowed down the progress of land recovery, compensation records, and resettlement site clearance. In addition, at the two resettlement sites of Huoi Luom and Na Luom, there are still problems with reclaimed land... To be more drastic and stronger in compensation, site clearance and resettlement, Que Phong has also had to implement coercive solutions at some resettlement sites, but the results have not been as expected.

Obviously, the pressure on progress is to ensure implementation, but the optimal solution is to create consensus for high efficiency. Experience from Pieng Cu resettlement site "party members go first, villagers follow", the role of the party cell and village executive committee is very clear with the result that in just a short time, nearly 100 households in Nong Danh village were relocated to the resettlement area. This is a lesson that Que Phong district and HHC need to replicate at the remaining resettlement sites.

Huu Nghia