Expedite land clearance for the North-South expressway section passing through Hoang Mai town.

Earlier, a delegation led by the Standing Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee, along with relevant departments and agencies, conducted an on-site inspection of the construction of resettlement areas in Quynh Trang and Quynh Vinh communes – these are two resettlement areas built by the Hoang Mai Town People's Committee to relocate households affected by the construction process.North-South Expressway.

The Standing Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee listens to a report on the progress of the resettlement area construction in Quynh Trang commune. Photo: Tien Dong

In Quynh Trang commune, the resettlement area covers 2 hectares, and approximately 60% of the work has been completed. It is expected that by October 30, 2021, the land will be ready for allocation to affected households. The resettlement area in Quynh Vinh commune covers 10 hectares and is currently about 98% complete, ready for allocation to households.

The North-South Expressway (Eastern section) passing through Hoang Mai town has a total length of 9.985km, traversing two communes: Quynh Vinh (4.62km) and Quynh Trang (5.365km). Of this, approximately 8.985km passes through agricultural land and other areas, and 1km through residential areas. The total affected land area is approximately 82.49 hectares, with 41.04 hectares in Quynh Vinh and 40.56 hectares in Quynh Trang. 1,518 households are affected, including those with both residential and agricultural land, with 807 households in Quynh Vinh and 711 households in Quynh Trang.

To date, the People's Committee of Hoang Mai Town has cleared 63.85/65.09 hectares of agricultural land, reaching 98.1%. Land clearance for residential and garden land has also been completed for 5.6/6.41 hectares, reaching 87.36%.

Resettlement areas in Quynh Vinh and Quynh Trang communes are currently under construction and nearing completion. Photo: Tien Dong

According to the report byPeople's Committee of Hoang Mai TownThe reason why land compensation has not been completed to date is that in Quynh Trang commune, 11 households had their residential land confiscated due to the illegal sale of land by the Quynh Trang Commune People's Committee in 1997. They have receipts from the Commune People's Committee but lack land allocation documents, do not show the allocated area, and cannot prove that the full amount paid has been made, causing difficulties in preparing compensation and support documents. Although the Provincial People's Committee and the Department of Natural Resources and Environment have issued directives and guidelines, determining the amount of land use fees according to the 1993 land law is not feasible. Currently, the Hoang Mai Town People's Committee is establishing a working group to inspect and verify the situation.

In addition, some households have approved the compensation and support plan but have refused to accept the money and are appealing the decision.

The Standing Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee inspected and highly appreciated the infrastructure of the resettlement area in Quynh Vinh commune. Photo: Tien Dong

Currently, the People's Committee of Hoang Mai Town has also received complaints from households regarding the determination of specific land prices for compensation for residential land, garden land, and specific land prices for resettlement land allocation.

Some households have petitioned for the reclamation and compensation of land within the traffic safety corridor and the remaining land outside the traffic safety corridor that is irregularly shaped and unsuitable for construction. Currently, the People's Committee of Hoang Mai Town is awaiting guidance from the Provincial People's Committee to proceed with the next steps.

Following a field inspection, the working group of the Provincial People's Committee, led by Comrade Le Hong Vinh - Member of the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee, Permanent Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee, held a meeting to discuss ways to resolve related obstacles. Photo: Tien Dong

In addition, there is currently one enterprise in the area licensed by the Provincial People's Committee to exploit a landfill soil mine in the Doi Chanh area, Quynh Vinh commune, with an area of ​​9.86 hectares. Currently, this enterprise has been granted a land lease by the Provincial People's Committee in the first phase (June 27, 2019) covering 3.69/9.86 hectares. When the expressway construction project was initiated, it affected 0.8 hectares of leased land and 0.2 hectares of the mine area that had been granted but not yet leased from the enterprise. The People's Committee of Hoang Mai town has also submitted a document requesting the Provincial People's Committee to allow the exchange of the affected 3.8 hectares of mine area to an adjacent location within the granted mine area. However, the Mineral Resources Law does not stipulate the exchange of a portion of the mine area. Therefore, the People's Committee of Hoang Mai town is currently facing difficulties in preparing compensation and support documents.

Mr. Nguyen Huu An, Chairman of the People's Committee of Hoang Mai Town, presented some obstacles in land clearance for the expressway project passing through Hoang Mai Town. Photo: Tien Dong

Furthermore, some specialized cemeteries within the project area are currently complex to manage, making it difficult to apply the standard compensation rates and requiring separate cost estimates; the families involved have not yet agreed on the established cost estimates. Due to frequent stormy weather, the construction unit is facing difficulties in accelerating the progress of infrastructure construction in the Quynh Trang resettlement area, the flood discharge culvert of the main Vuc Mau canal, etc.

At this meeting, the People's Committee of Hoang Mai Town also requested the Provincial People's Committee to allow the land acquisition and compensation in accordance with regulations for the area located within the highway safety corridor; and to allow the acquisition and compensation of the entire plot of land if the remaining portion of the plot outside the safety corridor is irregularly shaped, has many edges, is small in area, and is unsuitable for building houses and establishing a stable life.

Workers are completing the final stages of construction at the resettlement area in Quynh Vinh commune. Photo: Tien Dong.

The town also requested the Provincial People's Committee to direct and guide the locality in resolving difficulties related to complaints about land compensation and resettlement prices that were not determined at the same time.

The People's Committee of Hoang Mai Town also requested the Department of Natural Resources and Environment and the Department of Finance to provide guidance on preparing compensation and support dossiers for the area of ​​land used for mineral exploitation that has been reclaimed from the enterprise. They also requested the Project Management Board 6 to hand over the markers of the highway safety corridor so that the locality has a basis for extracting and supplementing the cadastral map of the land area to serve the preparation of compensation dossiers for affected households within the safety corridor if the Provincial People's Committee agrees with the above-mentioned policy.

Mr. Pham Van Toan, Deputy Director of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment, believes that the local Land Compensation and Resettlement Council needs to make specific proposals to provide a basis for resolution. Photo: Tien Dong

Responding to the concerns raised by the People's Committee of Hoang Mai Town, Mr. Pham Van Toan, Deputy Director of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment, stated that it is necessary to clearly verify the reserves and area of ​​the mine being reclaimed by the unit in order to have a basis for handling the matter. Regarding the request to adjust the land acquisition price to the current price for the households, according to regulations, the compensation price is determined at the time of land acquisition, land allocation, and land use change. However, if the price has not been implemented after approval, any adjustment requires a proposal from the local Land Compensation and Resettlement Council, and a review of prices at various times is necessary before a decision can be made.

Mr. Nguyen Duc An, Deputy Director of the Department of Transport, suggested that Hoang Mai town needs to clearly identify the difficulties and obstacles in order to resolve them step by step and hand over the land to the contractor for construction as soon as possible. Photo: Tien Dong

Mr. Nguyen Trung Long, Head of the Price and Public Assets Management Department of the Department of Finance, stated that if it is necessary to adjust the land price at the original location, then the entire area must be adjusted. However, if only the land price at the resettlement site is adjusted, the scope will be narrower, and the authority will belong to the local Land Compensation and Resettlement Council.

In conclusion, at the meeting,Comrade Le Hong VinhWe also share the difficulties faced by the local authorities. The time of land clearance for the North-South expressway coincided with the time when the People's Committee of Hoang Mai town was reorganizing its leadership structure, and natural disasters and epidemics affected the progress of land clearance and the construction of the resettlement area.

Comrade Le Hong Vinh requested that the local authorities of Hoang Mai town be decisive in resolving obstacles and determined not to allow further delays in the project as required by the Government. Photo: Tien Dong

However, the Standing Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee also requested that agencies and departments in Hoang Mai town be more decisive in completing land clearance, focusing on resolving difficulties and assisting people to speed up the handover process, and preventing further delays.

Local authorities need to mobilize the entire political system to disseminate information and encourage people to hand over the land as soon as possible. Regarding the construction of resettlement areas, progress must be accelerated to quickly relocate residents to their new homes and hand over the land to the construction unit. It is essential to ensure that the land handover, as mandated by the Government, is completed by November 31, 2021.