Clearing land for key projects in Do Luong district: Consensus for a developing future

The "bottlenecks"

The My Son - Tru Son route has a surface width of only 3.5m, no sidewalk, is degraded and often has heavy vehicles participating in traffic, so it is always unsafe and has become a nightmare for people in the area.

That is why, for many years, voters of Tru Son and My Son communes have regularly made recommendations to People's Councils at all levels, requesting the district government to pay attention to investing in upgrading and expanding the road.

The voters' wishes have a chance to become a reality at the end of October 2019, when the People's Committee of Do Luong district issued Decision No. 668/QD-UBND approving the proposal report and approving the investment policy for the construction of the project "Repair and upgrade of Tru - My road, Do Luong district". According to this Decision, Tru - My road with a length of 1.3km will be expanded to have a 6.5m wide roadbed, cement concrete structure with a thickness of 25cm, implementation time from 2020 - 2021.

The 45m planned traffic route, section Km0+950 - Km1+200 from Do Luong town to Da Son commune has been formed. Photo: Nhat Lan

However, traveling on the Tru - My route on June 28, 2022, there were no signs of repairs or upgrades. The road is still narrow and degraded, with large, bulky trucks still passing by, causing people to worry about their safety. When asked, the local authorities said that although they were very hopeful that the Tru - My route repair and upgrade projects were still "suspended", due to problems with compensation and site clearance for 3 households, the section connecting to National Highway 15.

In September 2021, the People's Committee of Do Luong district approved the investment policy for the 45m planned traffic road project, section Km0+950 - Km1+200 from Do Luong town to Da Son commune. According to the design, this is a beautiful road with a length of about 257m (the connecting section of the 36m planned road is 57m long), the roadbed width is 45m, the road surface on each side is 9m, in the middle there are flower beds and green grass, besides, there are also sidewalks and auxiliary works on the route.

With the goal of "To ensure the traffic needs of people and vehicles participating in traffic on the road are convenient, easy to travel, avoid flooding during the rainy season, besides, creating a landscape, open space, clean and beautiful, minimizing accidents and gradually completing the infrastructure to expand the urban area for Do Luong town"; the road is being accelerated, determined to complete the progress by the end of 2022.

Up to now, although this route has been formed, there are still problems in site clearance for the production land of 2 households.

The family's agricultural land is still stuck in the traffic project from Do Luong town to Da Son commune. Photo: Nhat Lan

To concretize the expansion plan of Do Luong town, increasingly improve and complete the infrastructure, towards achieving the standards of a type 4 urban area, becoming a town in the near future, the Provincial People's Committee agreed to allow Do Luong district to conduct surveys and select locations to plan the construction of a number of residential land subdivision areas, and conduct auctions of land use rights for adjacent lands in Thinh Son, Dong Son, and Da Son communes.

From this policy, in the years 2020 - 2021, the People's Committee of Do Luong district was guided by relevant departments and branches to carry out the steps to plan and implement residential land subdivision areas in the Dong Cua - Chua Diec areas (Dai Dong hamlet, Thinh Son commune); Khang Ha - Sao Vang - Cua Ru - Bau Nep areas (Da Son commune); Hoi Luc - Dia Su areas (Dong Son commune); Bai Dau area (hamlet 10, Da Son commune)... Up to now, with a meticulous and methodical approach, properly and fully implementing the policies issued by the State, the land acquisition and site clearance work of the People's Committee of Do Luong district in these projects has basically been favorable, with only a few problems.

For example, in the land division area in Dong Cua - Chua Diec, there are 2 cases; in Khang Ha - Sao Vang - Cua Ru - Bau Nep, there are 2 cases; in Hoi Luc - Dia Su, there is 1 case; in Bai Dau, there is 1 case...

Vice Chairman of Da Son Commune People's Committee, Mr. Tran Quoc Toan discussed the causes of difficulties of households in the area. Photo: Ha Giang

Understanding, for a developing future

In order to understand the reason why some households have not agreed with the land acquisition policy for project implementation, it is because they think that the unit price set by the Compensation and Site Clearance Council of Do Luong district is low, so they have not agreed with the compensation and support plan.

For example, in the project of dividing residential land plots in Dong Cua - Chua Diec area, two households that have not yet handed over the land have been met by the District Compensation and Site Clearance Council; the People's Committee, the Fatherland Front Committee of Thinh Son commune; the Executive Committee and the Front Working Committee of Yen The hamlet to discuss and explain the legal regulations and policies of the State; even the People's Committee of Thinh Son commune has proposed an additional plan to exchange land at an equivalent location to have more options. However, these two households still did not accept.

According to Mr. Thai Dinh Phuc, a cadastral officer of Thinh Son commune, "The project of dividing residential land plots in the Dong Cua - Chua Diec area involves agricultural land of more than 40 households. Most households agree with the compensation and support plan, but only 2 families have problems, saying that the compensation price is low and must be reconsidered before signing the documents."

The reason is because they think this is a project to divide residential land, even if it is a State project, compensation must be negotiated like a project implemented by an enterprise...".

Mr. Thai Dinh Phuc - cadastral officer of Thinh Son commune

The Tru - My route is narrow, degraded, and seriously unsafe for traffic. Photo: Ha Giang

With the project of dividing residential land plots in the Hoi Luc - Dia Su area, it is necessary to recover the production land of 21 households. Up to now, 20 households have agreed to the compensation plan and support for site clearance. The remaining households have not agreed to sign the documents because they think that the compensation price for land is still low; in addition, they propose to return the agricultural land area previously donated so that the Dong Son Commune People's Committee can build internal traffic roads.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh Thuy, a cadastral officer of Dong Son commune, said: “The establishment of compensation prices and support for agricultural land when the State reclaims land to implement projects is based on regulations, and no level can violate them. The commune cannot implement the proposal to return the donated land area because the law stipulates that it does not consider returning donated land area. The District Compensation and Site Clearance Council; the People's Committee and the Fatherland Front Committee of Dong Son commune have discussed these matters in detail, but this household has not yet agreed…”

In the project "Repair and upgrade of Tru - My road, Do Luong district", the planned road expansion area is 14,342m²Currently, there are only problems in compensation for land clearance and garden land of 3 households, with an area of ​​about 400m2.²However, because the land to be recovered from 3 households is adjacent to National Highway 15, the starting point of the Tru - My route, it affects the project's progress.

At this place, Ms. Dang Thi Bich - Chairwoman of the Fatherland Front of My Son commune said that for a long time, the people have wanted the district to expand and upgrade the road, so they basically agreed and handed over the land when the State reclaimed it. For families who still have problems, the Fatherland Front of the commune has participated in a number of meetings and coordinated in propaganda work, so they know that the compensation price has been built in accordance with regulations.

The viewpoint of the Front organization is to continue to mobilize households to understand and agree with the State's policies and guidelines, and implement land handover. In case households still do not share, measures must be taken to implement the project, meeting the long-standing expectations of the majority of people...".

Ms. Dang Thi Bich - Chairwoman of the Fatherland Front of My Son commune

Chairwoman of the Fatherland Front Committee of My Son commune, Ms. Dang Thi Bich, discussed the viewpoint of the front organization in the work of site clearance and construction of the renovation of the Tru - My road. Photo: Ha Giang

According to Mr. Tran Van Hien - Vice Chairman of Do Luong District People's Committee, the implementation of works and projects in the area is to strive to achieve two major goals. That is, Do Luong district meets new rural standards, and the central areas of 14 communes that have been planned for urban areas meet the criteria of type IV urban areas, striving to become towns before 2030.

Achieving these goals will, in general, promote the comprehensive socio-economic development of the district, further improving all aspects of people's lives.

Therefore, it is hoped that households where projects and works are carried out, especially those with problems, need to understand the State's policies and guidelines on land acquisition, compensation and site clearance, and create consensus so that projects and works can be implemented on schedule.