Nearly 1,000 billion VND spent on land acquisition to implement projects in Vinh City.

On the morning of August 16, the delegation of National Assembly deputies (NADs) of the province conducted supervision at the People's Committee of Vinh City on the implementation of the law on receiving citizens, handling complaints and denunciations related to land acquisition and compensation for site clearance to implement projects in the area.

Deputy Heads of the Provincial National Assembly Delegation: Nguyen Thanh Hien - Member of the Provincial Party Executive Committee and Tran Van Mao co-chaired the meeting. Also attending were Major General Nguyen Sy Hoi - Deputy Commander of Military Region 4, Provincial National Assembly Delegate; representatives of a number of provincial departments and branches. Photo: Thanh Duy

Regarding the content of the monitoring delegation, Vinh City People's Committee said that from the beginning of 2016 to the end of June 2018, the city regularly received citizens with 1,578 people/1,543 cases, of which complaints related to land acquisition and clearance and land use rights were 53 cases; denunciations related to land acquisition and clearance and land use rights were 3 cases; recommendations and reflections related to land acquisition and clearance and land use rights were 1,487 cases.

Regarding regular citizen reception, Vinh City received 403 citizens related to 393 cases, of which 10 were complaints related to land acquisition and clearance and land use rights; 1 was denunciation related to land acquisition and clearance and land use rights; and 382 were recommendations and reflections related to land acquisition and clearance and land use rights.

Vinh City has received 2,714 petitions/1,582 cases related to land acquisition and compensation, including 39 complaints, 3 denunciations, and 1,540 petitions. As a result, 34/39 complaints have been resolved within its jurisdiction and 3/3 denunciations have been resolved within its jurisdiction.

Major General Nguyen Sy Hoi speaks at the meeting. Photo: Thanh Duy

Despite many efforts, according to the Vinh City People's Committee, the number of petitions arising in the area is still high, especially petitions related to compensation for site clearance. The City People's Committee assigned some cases to departments and units for consultation, but there are still delays.

The reason is said to be that the city has to reclaim land to implement many projects, while the legal regulations on granting land use right certificates, compensation for site clearance, etc. still have many shortcomings, contradictions, and are not close to reality. People do not agree, so petitions arise that go beyond the level and drag on.

On the part of the people, there are cases where, although they clearly understand the legal regulations, they still deliberately refuse to accept the settlement results that are in accordance with the regulations of the competent State agencies.

Subjectively, State management in some areas is not good and lacks determination, especially in the fields of land management, urban order, cooperatives, etc., leading to the emergence of petitions and difficulties in the resolution process.

The members of the monitoring delegation also asked many questions related to difficulties in the implementation process and recommendations from the Vinh City People's Committee.

Vice Chairman of Vinh City People's Committee Ha Thanh Tinh spoke at the meeting. Photo: Thanh Duy

Speaking at the meeting, Deputy Head of the Provincial Citizen Reception Committee Thai Minh Tuan assessed that Vinh City is a locality with many petitions, especially those related to land. “From the beginning of 2016 until now, at the provincial level, there have been 53/119 major cases related to land in Vinh City and they have basically been resolved,” Mr. Tuan cited.

Through receiving and participating in resolving petitions, the representative of the Provincial Citizen Reception Committee also warned of some risks that lead to citizens filing complaints and lawsuits during the process of land acquisition and compensation for site clearance, such as falsifying records, documents, making false declarations to receive compensation; there are even cases where officials intentionally apply incorrect policies in resolving compensation for resettlement...

Regarding the recommendation to the monitoring delegation, Vice Chairman of Vinh City People's Committee Ha Thanh Tinh said that it is necessary to study the compensation price for land acquisition and clearance close to the market price; advise on arranging staff for the Citizen Reception Committee to operate professionally; invest in software to monitor and process unified petitions at all levels to facilitate searching and coordination of handling.

On behalf of the monitoring delegation, Deputy Head of the Provincial National Assembly Delegation Tran Van Mao concluded the meeting acknowledging the efforts of the Vinh City People's Committee in enforcing the law on receiving citizens, resolving complaints and denunciations related to land acquisition and compensation for site clearance to implement projects.

Deputy Head of the Provincial National Assembly Delegation Tran Van Mao concluded the meeting. Photo: Thanh Duy

Pointing out some shortcomings and limitations, the Deputy Head of the Provincial National Assembly Delegation suggested that the city continue to pay attention to directing and enhancing dialogue with the people regarding this issue; at the same time, strengthen facilities, arrange reasonable staffing for the Citizen Reception Committee; regularly do a good job of propaganda for the people and training for officials.

In particular, the Deputy Head of the Provincial National Assembly Delegation requested the city to strictly follow the procedures and comply with the law in the process of land recovery for projects; do a better job of publicizing projects to the people; inspect and examine outstanding and prolonged complaints and denunciations and seriously implement the conclusions after inspection and examination.