Adjusting the planning of Yen Thang hydropower project: Listening to the people's wishes!

There is a survey, get opinions

AboutYen Thang Hydropower Project, planned to be built on Nguyen stream (also known as Huoi Nguyen stream in Yen Thang commune, Tuong Duong district), invested by Yen Thang Hydropower Joint Stock Company. This hydropower plant has a designed capacity of 11MW, with a total investment of nearly 240 billion VND; construction started on October 25, 2009, and was expected to be completed and put into operation in 2011. However, after the groundbreaking ceremony, the investor disappeared like a "bird's shadow, a fish's trace", and then in October 2013, Yen Thang Hydropower Project was officially "terminated".

Therefore, we are really concerned about this information. To prove it, the reporter affirmed that in October 2020, voters of the districtXiangyanghave made suggestions to the National Assembly delegates. “Voters urgently request that the National Assembly delegates soon give their opinions so as not to continue building hydropower plants in Tuong Duong district. Reporters of Nghe An Newspaper will investigate and find out...” - the reporter emphasized.

The planned construction site of Yen Thang Hydropower Dam is located at the end of Ngon village, the beginning of Xop Khau village; Nguyen stream, the end of Ngon village; A family's house is located close to Nguyen stream. Photo: Nhat Lan

Contacting Mr. Kha Van Ot - Vice Chairman of the People's Council of Tuong Duong district to verify, this incident really happened. Specifically, on October 7, 2020, the National Assembly delegation of the province including Mr. Le Quang Huy - Vice Chairman of the National Assembly's Committee on Science, Technology and Environment and Major General Nguyen Huu Cau met with voters of Tuong Duong district. Here, the voter representative requested theNational Assembly RepresentativeIt is necessary to have opinions soon so that the competent authorities do not continue to build hydropower plants in Tuong Duong district. Receiving this opinion, Major General Nguyen Huu Cau had some exchanges and shared and promised to convey the wishes of Tuong Duong district voters to the competent authorities at the provincial and central levels. "At the same time that the National Assembly deputies were meeting with voters, there was a working group surveying the site of the former Yen Thang Hydropower Project to get opinions on additional planning..." - Vice Chairman of Tuong Duong District People's Council Kha Van Ot discussed.

Contacting the People's Committee of Tuong Duong district to grasp the situation, it is known that on October 14, 2020, the Department of Industry and Trade issued Official Dispatch No. 1733/SCT-QLNL on giving opinions on the proposal to adjust the planning of Yen Thang Hydropower Project to relevant departments, branches and the District Party Committee, Tuong Duong District People's Committee and the People's Committees of Yen Thang and Yen Hoa communes.

The content of Official Dispatch No. 1733/SCT-QLNL informed that on October 1, 2020, the Provincial People's Committee issued Official Dispatch No. 6728/UBND-CN assigning the Department of Industry and Trade to preside over and coordinate with departments, branches and localities to consider the proposal of Song Cau Joint Stock Company to propose adjusting the planning of Yen Thang Hydropower Project. On October 7, 2020, the Department of Industry and Trade organized a working group consisting of representatives of relevant departments, branches and units together with the People's Committee of Tuong Duong district, the People's Committees of Yen Thang and Yen Hoa communes to conduct a field inspection and work with Song Cau Joint Stock Company. After inspecting the site, Song Cau Joint Stock Company accepted the opinions of the members of the working group and directed the consulting unit to complete the dossier. By October 13, 2020, Song Cau Joint Stock Company had Report No. 269/SDCC-TTTV1. Therefore, the Department of Industry and Trade requests that relevant departments, branches, and units, together with the People's Committee of Tuong Duong district, base on the records and Report No. 269/SDCC-TTTV1, send written comments to the Department for synthesis and reporting to the Provincial People's Committee.

The facility has not heard, does not know!

Going up to Yen Thang commune, we were taken by this local official to the location where the groundbreaking ceremony of the hydropower plant took place in 2009, and then informed: According to the documents provided by the investor, the planning of the Yen Thang Hydropower Project has changed. Previously, the hydropower dam was located under Xop Khau village, now it is planned to move it up to the village so as not to affect the people's housing projects. Question: According to the new planning, which areas will the Yen Thang Hydropower reservoir affect? ​​According to the official of Yen Thang commune, the reservoir of Yen Thang Hydropower Plant is related to Nguyen stream, Cha Ha stream, Ngan stream, in the areas of Xop Khau village (Yen Thang), Xieng Lip village, Coc village, Ngon village, Canh Khin village (Yen Hoa commune). "As far as I know, the rice fields of the 5 villages are all affected, and as for houses and civil works, the district is taking care of Xieng Lip village" - this official said.

Ngon village is located along National Highway 48C, adjacent to Xop Khau village. Traveling on this national highway, we see houses, gardens, and livestock farms of 3 households located next to Nguyen stream; besides, there are some sections of the national highway that are quite low and close to the stream, which will certainly have negative impacts if the hydroelectric dam is blocked. In Ngon village, we met the Party Secretary, Mr. Lo Van Thiu. When asked, he said that he had not known anything about the survey and consultation on the additional planning of Yen Thang Hydroelectric Power Plant. According to Mr. Thiu, the whole village has only 3 households living in low-lying areas, which are often flooded when there is prolonged rain and floods; but for fields and gardens, they are basically along the stream, so he was very worried when hearing information about the hydroelectric power plant. The Party Secretary of Ngon village said: "Whether the village chief knows the information or not, I don't know anything. The commune has not reported the news yet. I hope that the superiors will fully convey the information so that when people ask, they will know how to answer...".

In Yen Hoa commune, we went along Nguyen stream, Cha Ha stream and Ngan stream. In these areas, there are fields and many houses of the people. Of note is the Xieng Lip village area, where some households have houses located very low, close to Cha Ha stream. According to Xieng Lip village chief, Ms. Luong Thi Dau, this place is often flooded during the rainy season. The whole Xieng Lip village has 179 households. From Xieng Lip bridge down to Xop Kha intersection, there are 87 houses that are often flooded, of which more than 30 houses are deeply flooded. "Last year's flood, some houses were flooded up to 2m deep. The people suffered a lot from the flood..." - Ms. Luong Thi Dau said. I asked the village chief if he had heard about the survey and planning of Yen Thang Hydropower Plant? Ms. Dau replied: “I only know that there was a groundbreaking ceremony for Yen Thang Hydropower Plant a long time ago, but there has been no further information recently. The commune has not had any information with the village cadres...”. And like Mr. Lo Van Thiu - Secretary of the Ngon village Party Cell, Ms. Luong Thi Dau shared: “As village cadres, we want to know the information early so that when the people ask, we will know how to answer. Whatever we do, we must let the grassroots cadres and the people know...”.

Must get public opinion!

According to the explanatory document on the adjustment of the planning of Yen Thang Hydropower Project provided to Yen Thang commune, the options proposed by the investor will minimize the impacts on the people. In Document No. 269/SDCC-TTTV1, it is shown that the investor accepted the comments of the departments, branches, Tuong Duong district, Yen Hoa commune, Yen Thang (at the meeting held after the actual site on October 7, 2020), making a commitment that if the project is added to the planning and implemented, it will ensure social security, the rights of the people, and contribute to the general economy of the province...

However, through discussions, the leaders of Tuong Duong district clearly expressed their concerns, because when floods occur, they often go directly to the weak points in Yen Hoa and Yen Thang communes to help people fight floods. As for Mr. Kha Van Ot, he does not believe that the plans to adjust the planning of Yen Thang Hydropower Project will limit the negative impacts. Mr. Ot said: "In the flood in 2019, without the hydropower plant, the water in Cha Ha stream rose about 0.5m above the bridge surface. If there is a hydropower plant blocking the flow, when floods occur, it will be unimaginable...".

Mr. Phan Duc Son - Chairman of Tuong Duong District People's Committee said that he participated in the field survey on October 7, 2020 and gave his opinion at the meeting that took place afterwards. Chairman of Tuong Duong District People's Committee said: “I made clear the district's viewpoint at the meeting. That is, Tuong Duong District agrees with the policy of attracting investment to create clean energy sources. However, there are many hydropower plants in Tuong Duong District, and there are some problems and obstacles that have existed for many years in some hydropower plants that have not been thoroughly resolved. Therefore, the investor needs to organize a meeting to get the opinions of the people in the affected areas. If the people agree, the local authorities agree, Tuong Duong District People's Committee will ask for the opinion of the Standing Committee of the District Party Committee, then there will be opinions...”.

Following the reality for many years in Tuong Duong district, we understand the thoughts of the local leaders. Because although there are many hydroelectric projects in the area, the people of this 30a mountain district do not benefit from them, not only that, they also have to bear many consequences. As with the Yen Thang Hydroelectric Project, after the groundbreaking ceremony, the "gold bandits" problem lasted for a long time, destroying the rice banks and honey fields on both sides of Nguyen stream, Ngan stream, and Cha Ha stream. Therefore, at the present time, no matter what optimal solutions and plans the investors propose, listening to and resolving the wishes of the people is a must!