Nearly 200 graves are submerged beneath the Chi Khe hydroelectric reservoir.

Authorities are investigating.

On the first day of December 2022, Chi Khe Hydropower Joint Stock Company announced that it was coordinating with the People's Committee of Con Cuong district to gather and finalize relevant documents to provide to the Department of Natural Resources and Environment as requested by the department to carry out the next steps.

Previously, in its November 17, 2022 issue, Nghe An Newspaper published an article."The hydropower plant failed to fulfill its commitments, causing losses for hundreds of households."The article reflects the fact that the investor inaccurately assessed the impact of the project on land users. As a result, when the Chi Khe hydropower plant filled its reservoir to the permitted level, the agricultural land, houses of hundreds of households, and many transportation infrastructure projects, graves, etc., were submerged under the reservoir, even though they were not subject to land clearance. Although the investor committed to re-measuring and compiling records according to the actual flooded conditions after the water level reached 38m to provide additional compensation to the people, this commitment has not been fulfilled even after many years.

On November 19, 2022, the People's Committee of Nghe An province issued a document regarding the compensation and support for the landslide area located within the planned protection corridor of the Chi Khe hydropower reservoir. The document assigned the Department of Natural Resources and Environment to take the lead and coordinate with relevant agencies to consider the proposal from the People's Committee of Con Cuong district and implement it in accordance with the law.

On November 21, 2022, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment sent a document to the People's Committee of Con Cuong District requesting the provision of documents related to the landslide area located within the Chi Khe hydropower reservoir protection corridor. Accordingly, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment requested the People's Committee of Con Cuong District to provide documents related to the investment policy for the Chi Khe hydropower project, Decision No. 3335/QD-UBND dated August 1, 2018 of the Provincial People's Committee approving the overall planning of the reservoir area (including the overall planning map of the reservoir area); an extract of the supplementary survey map after water impoundment to an elevation of 38m; and any documents related to the landslide area located within the Chi Khe hydropower reservoir protection corridor (if any).

Initially, the land clearance for the Chi Khê hydropower project was expected to cost only about 40 billion VND; however, to date, the project has paid over 300 billion VND in compensation but is still not completed. Photo: Tiến Hùng

Furthermore, following the report by Nghe An Newspaper, the Department of Industry and Trade issued a document addressing outstanding issues in land compensation and clearance for the Chi Khe Hydropower Plant, addressed to the People's Committee of Con Cuong District and Chi Khe Hydropower Joint Stock Company.

The document states that on November 17, 2022, Nghe An Newspaper published issue 13390, which contained an article titled "Hydropower plant fails to fulfill commitments, hundreds of households suffer losses." To provide a basis for advising the Provincial People's Committee in its assigned field, the Department of Industry and Trade requests the People's Committee of Con Cuong District and Chi Khe Hydropower Joint Stock Company to clarify the content of the article, report on the implementation status, proposed solutions, future plans, and compensation for land clearance issues arising from the Chi Khe Hydropower Plant…

Nearly 200 graves were submerged under the hydroelectric reservoir.

In its response to the Department of Industry and Trade, Chi Khe Hydropower Joint Stock Company stated that after the hydropower plant's water level reached 38m, several households in Chau Khe commune submitted petitions alleging that some graves were affected. The investor coordinated with the Land Clearance Council and the Chau Khe commune authorities to inspect the site. Based on the verification results from the village and commune authorities regarding the affected graves of the households, the investor, in coordination with the Con Cuong District Land Clearance Council, proceeded to prepare, assess, and approve the dossiers for the affected households.

On February 2nd, 2021, the People's Committee of Con Cuong District issued a decision approving the compensation and support plan for households whose graves were affected, totaling 185 graves, with a total support value of nearly 1.3 billion VND. The funds have been disbursed to each affected household. As of November 2nd, 2022, five households in Bung village, Chau Khe commune, submitted a petition requesting that some affected graves have not yet been included in the compensation and support dossiers. Following these requests, the investor is coordinating with the People's Committee of Chau Khe commune and the Land Clearance Council to verify and confirm the information, in order to complete the supplementary compensation and support dossiers for these households for appraisal, approval, and payment according to regulations.

For remaining plots of land near the water's edge with an area of ​​less than 100m².²Regarding unqualified farming conditions, some poverty alleviation support files, and other outstanding issues, the investor stated that the unit has coordinated with the Con Cuong District Land Clearance Council to prepare, appraise, and approve compensation and support files for affected households. To date, Con Cuong District has approved 265 files with a total compensation and support value of over 7.7 billion VND. Currently, the process of publicly posting the files at all levels of government is being carried out as required. After the files are publicly posted and the households have no objections, the investor will coordinate with relevant parties to disburse funds to affected households according to the Decision approved by the District People's Committee.

The burial ground is now submerged under the hydroelectric reservoir. Photo: Tien Hung

For some structures along the reservoir located outside the 38m elevation compensation boundary, the company is coordinating with Con Cuong district and relevant departments to conduct on-site inspections of the locations where residents have requested compensation for houses along the reservoir to assess the actual impact of the project on the structures and property of the households. If the hydropower project is found to have caused any impact, a plan for remediation and support will be developed to protect the structures and property, ensuring that the households can live there stably in the long term.

Regarding the inspection and measurement of landslides that occurred after water impoundment, the investor stated that after the Chi Khe hydropower plant impounded water to an elevation of 38m, there were complaints about a small area of ​​land located between the land clearance boundary markers in small ravines being flooded, and some areas of fertile land experiencing landslides that had not yet been measured and compensated. Based on the recommendations of the households and the local authorities, the company coordinated with local authorities and the surveying consultant to conduct on-site inspections. They found that some areas were flooded intermittently within the land clearance boundary markers, and some areas experienced landslides during the annual rainy season. Landslides had also occurred in these areas before the plant began impounding water.

“The company requested the consulting unit to conduct additional measurements after the reservoir reached an elevation of 38m in August 2019. According to the consultant's measurements, the area of ​​land affected by landslides in Cam Lam, Chau Khe, and Lang Khe communes is approximately 10.5 hectares, including the area affected by landslides due to the August 2018 floods. At that time, the Chi Khe Hydropower Project had not yet reached an elevation of 38m. Since the reservoir reached 38m, in 2020, through on-site inspections of the Chi Khe hydropower reservoir area, further landslides were observed in some areas of fertile land in Cam Lam, Chau Khe, and Lang Khe communes after the floods. The entire area is within the planned reservoir protection corridor,” stated the document from Chi Khe Hydropower Joint Stock Company.

A household in Chau Khe commune had their access road to their house flooded. Photo: Tien Hung

According to the investor, on December 15, 2020, the unit submitted a report and requested approval for the compensation and support plan for the landslide area located within the reservoir protection corridor. On December 28, 2020, the People's Committee of Con Cuong district also submitted a document to the People's Committee of Nghe An province requesting permission for Chi Khe Hydropower Joint Stock Company to coordinate with the People's Committee of Con Cuong district and the People's Committees of relevant communes to implement compensation and support for the landslide area located within the reservoir protection corridor under the overall planning of the Chi Khe hydropower reservoir area without requiring approval for reservoir planning adjustments.

The Chi Khê hydroelectric reservoir's planning has had to be adjusted several times. Photo: Tiến Hùng

However, according to our investigation, the Chi Khe hydropower plant has not taken any further action since then. Meanwhile, many households have lost all their agricultural land since the hydropower plant began impounding water to an elevation of 38 meters. Furthermore, many households living close to the water's edge are seriously threatened, facing the risk of their houses being swept away into the reservoir. Some households, unable to wait any longer, have had to use their own funds to relocate to safer areas.

Furthermore, in this response, the investor did not mention the impact of the Chi Khe hydropower plant on Tuong Duong district. According to the leaders of Tuong Duong district, after the Chi Khe hydropower plant filled its reservoir to an elevation of 38m, 71 households in Tam Quang commune submitted petitions claiming they lost their agricultural land due to it being submerged under the reservoir. Tuong Duong district subsequently issued numerous documents requesting the Chi Khe hydropower plant to remeasure and determine the water level… However, to date, the hydropower plant has not only failed to comply but has also not responded.