Land consolidation and plot exchange - "Voices" from the fields - Final article: Increasing responsibility, creating consensus at the grassroots level

(Baonghean) - Besides localities that have done well, there are many localities that are slow in implementation, not paying attention to the work of directing, inspecting, and urging the grassroots to implement land consolidation and plot exchange (DĐĐT). From now until the end of the year (the end of the 2010 - 2015 term), there is not much time left, so localities must implement synchronous and specific solutions to speed up progress according to the assigned plan.

Lack of interest, fear of change

Tan Ky is the slowest locality in the province in implementing land consolidation and plot exchange (DED). Up to now, only 1/18 communes have completed the work of arranging fields and digging and filling internal traffic; 10 communes have only partially implemented the area and 7 communes have not yet implemented it in the field. According to Mr. Nguyen Van Thanh (Head of the District Department of Natural Resources and Environment), the reason for the delay is due to the lack of awareness of the Party Committee and local authorities, who have not seen the benefits of DED; besides that, there is the mentality of being afraid of disturbance, change, difficulty and collision. For example, in Nghia Thai commune, DED has only been implemented in 3/6 hamlets, with the implemented area being less than 16 hectares out of a total of nearly 306 hectares; the first reason does not lie in objective reasons such as difficult terrain, fragmented fields... but rather in the awareness of both the authorities and the people.

Chairman of Nghia Thai Commune People's Committee - Mr. Phan Kim Van admitted: "It's not that it can't be done, but after converting the land according to Directive 02, we found it okay, and have no intention of continuing"... Or like in Ky Tan Commune, there is an individual household in Hamlet 1 Tan Xuan with up to 16 rice fields. Mr. Tran Van Dong, Chairman of Ky Tan Commune People's Committee said: "Previously, the superiors did not give close instructions, and the commune was focusing on other issues, especially building school infrastructure, rural traffic... so it did not pay much attention to the issue of land conversion".

Officials of Phuc Thanh commune (Yen Thanh) inspect the intra-field canal project. Photo: PB

Looking back at some communes of Tan Ky district such as Nghia Dong and Giai Xuan, when the Party Committee and the government focused on and resolutely led and directed, the results achieved were very positive. By 2014, Nghia Dong was the only locality in Tan Ky to complete the DDDT associated with the planning of renovating fields, upgrading traffic, irrigation, converting crop and livestock structures, with an average of only 1 plot of land per household. Or Giai Xuan commune, although the terrain conditions were not as favorable as in Nghia Dong, the fields were mainly terraced, in nooks and crannies, interspersed in residential areas, 70% of the population were ethnic minorities, and the average income per capita was still low, but this policy was supported by the majority of the people, with contributions of manpower and the participation of mass organizations.

The above 2 communes show that the direction of the Party Committees and authorities from the district to the commune in Tan Ky is not drastic, lacks focus, and lacks uniformity in propaganda, mobilization, and implementation direction. The District Steering Committee has not regularly inspected and urged. In addition, during the implementation process, the communes have not closely followed the instructions of the superior sector, so they are still confused, the steps are overlapping, and unscientific, leading to very low results after 3 years of implementation.

Also one of the localities with the slowest results in urbanization in the province, up to this point, Hung Nguyen district has only 11/22 communes completing urbanization work in the field such as Hung Xa, Hung Tan, Hung Thong, Hung Dao, Hung My, Hung Tien.... The other 11 communes have only been able to take the first steps of building commune plans, establishing steering committees, setting up traffic and irrigation markers in the field such as Hung Yen Bac, Hung Yen Nam, Hung Loi, Hung Nhan, Hung Chau... Compared to other localities, Hung Nguyen has many favorable conditions, when the land is relatively flat, the results of urbanization according to Directive 02 are relatively good, land allocation is concentrated... However, due to the system of Party committees, authorities and mass organizations not being resolute, sometimes being indifferent and hesitant, leading to limited direction, propaganda and mobilization of the people. Among the 11 slow-implementing communes of Hung Nguyen, Hung Yen Nam is at the bottom. The commune has 14 hamlets, none of which has developed a conversion plan and gained the people's consensus.

Mr. Hoang Duc Quy, Head of Hamlet 3, said: The Hamlet Executive Committee organized a meeting with the people and presented the conversion plan, but because the people did not agree, it was stopped. When asked why the people did not agree, Mr. Quy said that the land in the hamlet was terraced fields, some places were good, some places were bad. People saw that agricultural production was not effective, so they were no longer interested. During the harvest season, they returned to work, and during normal days, they worked as coolies in Vinh City for higher income. It was not until 2014 that the commune completed the land conversion plan and sent it to the district for approval. Since then, the commune has not done anything else. The reason is that the staff structure is unstable, so the members of the commune's Steering Committee have not been close to the base to urge and direct. Awareness of officials in Party committees, authorities and organizations and unions is still limited, so plans are proposed but not implemented, and propaganda and mobilization of people are not organized, so most people do not fully understand the meaning and purpose of urbanization.

Focus resources to complete the plan

According to the plan set forth by the Provincial People's Committee, from now until the end of 2015, all localities must complete the field survey. According to Mr. Hoang Van Phi, Secretary of the Hung Nguyen District Party Committee, immediately after the Provincial People's Committee issued the new plan, the district reorganized the Steering Committee and assigned specific tasks to each member. The district assigned specific plans to the communes.

Specifically, from now until the end of July, it is necessary to agree on the land use planning and marking the road and irrigation system; complete related contents to organize the drawing and allocate land to households on the map. From August to December, focus on directing communes to mark the road and allocate land to households and individuals after the conversion, gradually complete traffic and irrigation, and coordinate with related sectors to complete the dossier for granting certificates. The district also requires communes that have implemented land use planning but have not followed the requirements of Directive 08 to do it again. To help the communes, the district sent officials to provide direct guidance and remove difficulties, and at the same time trained 11 cadastral officials of 11 slow communes on procedures and implementation methods.

Preparing land for summer-autumn crop in Nghi Hoa commune (Nghi Loc). Photo: PH

Up to this point, only 12/20 communes in Nghi Loc district have completed the work of handing over land to the people. The difficulties and obstacles of Nghi Loc are because 10 communes belong to the Southeast Economic Zone and 4 communes belong to the Vinh City expansion planning area. Because it is located in an area where land must be recovered and agricultural land cleared to implement projects, the land acquisition and resettlement work has encountered many difficulties due to the people's mentality of waiting for compensation and not wanting to convert. However, besides that, another reason is that the direction of the district Party Committee and government in the past has not been really drastic. Many communes have just developed plans, established Steering Committees and professional groups, but they are just formalities, have not created a movement among the people, and some localities are still afraid of difficulties in implementation.

According to Mr. Truong Xuan Lieu, Head of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of Nghi Loc district, the district strives to basically complete land consolidation and plot exchange in communes by the end of 2015. “After the Party Congress, the communes have reorganized the Steering Committee and urged to speed up the land consolidation and plot exchange work. The district has assigned staff to directly go to the communes to guide and provide technical advice to land officers as well as the hamlet staff. For hamlets that have completed the plan and have the people's consent, after the summer-autumn rice harvest, the land will be handed over to the people in the field,” said Mr. Lieu.

Through grasping the situation in localities with slow urbanization, it can be seen that most of them have had certain changes in the direction and management as well as providing specific solutions to complete urbanization in 2015 according to the plan of the Provincial People's Committee. Mr. Vo Van Ngoc, Deputy Director of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment said: From now until the end of the year, there is not much time left, while the amount of work that needs to be done is relatively large; this is an important and difficult task to carry out. If it is done hastily, it is difficult to avoid mistakes, leading to petitions and lawsuits that cause insecurity, disorder and instability in the locality. Therefore, ensuring the progress of the proposed plan is necessary, but localities need to do it carefully, firmly and quickly resolve problems arising from the grassroots. In addition to promoting propaganda, it is necessary to be public and transparent, cadres and party members must take the lead, set an example and promote the spirit of democracy among the people. The Steering Committee and its members need to closely follow the grassroots to regularly inspect and evaluate in order to urge the grassroots and promptly resolve difficulties for the grassroots. Implementing the above specific and synchronous solutions, the work of land use planning will be completed as planned and open up new opportunities for farmers to increase production value, increase income and improve their lives.

Pham Bang - Phu Huong