Site clearance for Khe Lai reservoir project: Need to coordinate and complete implementation

(Baonghean) - The lack of consistency in determining land ownership in Tan Thang commune, Quynh Luu district has caused the site clearance for the Khe Lai reservoir construction project to be delayed.

» Priest Nguyen Dinh Thuc incited parishioners

Prolonged dispute

Received a petition from Mr. Nguyen Dinh Thich (born in 1989), residing in Nam Viet hamlet, Tan Thang commune (Quynh Luu) reflecting the long-standing dispute between his family and the People's Committee of Tan Thang commune over a piece of land that is being recovered to hand over the site for the Khe Lai reservoir construction project.

In the petition, Mr. Thich stated that since 1980, his parents, Mr. Nguyen Dinh Hoan (deceased) and Mrs. Vu Thi Them (born in 1945), residing in Quynh Thang commune, reclaimed a plot of land in O O village to grow cassava with an area of ​​about 7,000 m2.². This land was later transferred to him by his parents. In 2002, Quynh Thang commune was divided into 2 communes, Quynh Thang and Tan Thang, Mr. Thich's land belonged to Nam Viet hamlet, Tan Thang commune. In 2004, Mr. Thich moved to Tan Thang commune.

Disputed land.

The dispute arose when the State had a policy of clearing the land to build Khe Lai reservoir, Mr. Thich's land was subject to recovery. Tan Thang Commune People's Committee determined that this land was public land under the management of the commune level, so it was not entitled to land compensation and career conversion support, but Mr. Thich still believed that this land was under the right of personal use. The disagreement in determining the land user has caused the dispute to last until now.

Realizing that the incident had an impact on the site clearance of the key irrigation project, Nghe An Newspaper reporters investigated Tan Thang commune to verify. According to observations, the land that Mr. Thich mentioned is a flat land located close to the foot of the spillway. Currently, because there is no unified agreement, Mr. Thich is still using it.

Mr. Thich affirmed that this is the land reclaimed by his parents, continuously used since 1980 until now without any dispute. His family also did not sign any bidding contract with the People's Committee of Tan Thang commune, and also did not have to pay any annual tax on this land. "The People's Committee of Tan Thang commune does not have any documents proving that this is public land under the management of the commune level, so I think that the organization of land recovery of me is not in accordance with the law," said Mr. Thich.

Hand-drawn map of Tan Thang commune from 2002 includes part of the land area of ​​Ms. Vu Them - now left to Mr. Thich. Photo: Phuong Thao

When asked about the documents to prove that this land belongs to private ownership, Mr. Thich said, "for many reasons, my family does not have a land use right certificate or any documents", but still affirmed that the People's Committee of Tan Thang commune does not have enough basis to determine that this land belongs to the commune's management. Mr. Thich also expressed dissatisfaction with the fact that "the commune government did not organize a dialogue with the people", causing the dispute to remain unresolved.

Need consensus

To clarify the issue of who is the real owner of the above land, the reporter had a meeting with Mr. Phan Van Tuan - a cadastral officer of Tan Thang commune. Mr. Tuan said: "The land in question has an area of ​​about 5,000m² not 7,000m²As Mr. Thich said. Through checking the records kept at the Commune People's Committee, this land area belongs to the commune's public land planning area.

Contract between Tan Thang Commune People's Committee and Ms. Them from 2002. Photo: Phuong Thao

To confirm this argument, Mr. Tuan presented a hand-drawn diagram made in 2002, when the commune was first established, kept by the land officer at that time, Mr. Duc. According to this diagram, the above land of Mr. Thich belongs to the public land fund managed by the commune, in the diagram is written the name Vu Them, area 5,000m²Mr. Tuan also presented a contract No. 31 dated June 30, 2002 between Tan Thang Commune People's Committee and Ms. Vu Them - Mr. Thich's mother.

In this contract, there are 3 plots of land that Mr. Thich's family rented from the Commune People's Committee, the disputed plot is recorded as 5,000m2, in addition there are 2 other plots of land with an area of ​​2,500m2²and 5,000m². The total fee that Mr. Thich's family had to pay to the Commune People's Committee was 183,750 VND/year. The contract period was 2 years, from June 30, 2002 to June 30, 2004. Mr. Tuan said that since then, no further bidding contracts have been signed; there has been no agreement on land use between the Tan Thang Commune People's Committee and Mr. Thich's family.

On June 11, 2014, the Council for Land Origin Identification of Tan Thang Commune held a meeting. Here, the Council based on the above grounds decided that the land area that Mr. Thich was cultivating was not eligible to prepare a dossier for compensation and support for land, but only to prepare a dossier for compensation for crops on the land.

Mr. Tuan also said that Mr. Thich's reflection that "the commune government did not organize dialogue with the people" was incorrect. In 2015, the commune sent invitations 4 times on January 28, February 3, June 15, and December 30 to ask Mr. Thich to work with the commune government, but Mr. Thich did not show up. On October 3, 2016, the People's Committee of Tan Thang commune sent Document No. 43/UBND.TP in response to Mr. Thich's petition as "unfounded". "The commune really wanted to meet and dialogue with Mr. Thich directly to agree on a satisfactory solution, but Mr. Thich did not cooperate. The meeting with the government was almost entirely authorized by Mr. Thich to his brother, Nguyen Dinh Thuan, while Mr. Thich himself was the one who disagreed on this issue and wrote the complaint", Mr. Tuan said.

Thus, the problem here comes from both sides, first of all, Mr. Thich's family does not have any documents proving the right to use the land. As for the People's Committee of Tan Thang commune, there is a contract proving the land lease since 2002, but there is still laxity in land management: When the land contract with the household expired after 2004, they did not reclaim the land or negotiate the next bidding contracts, but let Mr. Thich's family freely produce; leading to disputes over land ownership. Therefore, organizing a dialogue to find a common voice is necessary.

Given the key nature of the Khe Lai reservoir project, the Tan Thang commune government, which is located in the project area, needs to enhance its responsibility and propose many solutions to coordinate with local residents and relevant sectors to thoroughly resolve the remaining problems. Mr. Thich's family also needs to cooperate with the government to thoroughly resolve the disagreements, both to ensure their legitimate rights and interests and to create favorable conditions to speed up the project's construction progress in the area./.

Phuong Thao