Transportation - a difficult criterion.

(Baonghean.vn) -Quynh Hau is one of two communes in Quynh Luu district selected by the province to pilot the New Rural Development (NRD) planning program since 2008.

Along with being selected, according to the decision of the Provincial People's Committee, the commune received an investment of 41.02 billion VND. By 2009, Quynh Hau was one of 5 communes in the province selected to develop a rural planning integrated from the province's New Rural Development program with a grant from the South Korean government, estimated at 108.36 billion VND (in reality, these funds had not yet been transferred to the locality).

Although the planning process lacked specific guidelines and criteria, and funding had not yet been allocated, effective mobilization efforts successfully harnessed public support and secured a total of 12 billion VND in infrastructure for the commune, including: constructing and renovating 22 new classrooms for the commune's two primary and secondary schools; upgrading the football field; building a new commune health station; investing in the construction of 10 km of new concrete irrigation canals; and simultaneously acquiring and renovating four water pumping stations and an electrical transformer station… Therefore, immediately after being selected by the district as a pilot area for building new rural areas under the National Target Program in January 2010, the commune already possessed certain prerequisites and advantages in terms of infrastructure.

In September 2010, based on the regulations of the New Rural Development Program, the commune established a Steering Committee, organized training sessions on the content, and conducted study tours; simultaneously, it immediately proceeded with surveying the local situation against the criteria set by the Central Government. Subsequently, the commune collaborated with a consulting unit to develop a New Rural Development plan according to regulations, and created an implementation plan for 2011, the 2011-2015 period, and the period from 2015 to 2020.

Because of this advantage, right from the start of the New Rural Development program under the national target program, after reviewing the current situation, Quynh Hau has almost achieved 10 out of 19 criteria: planning, post office, housing, poverty rate, forms of production organization, education, health, culture, political system and security and order; 3 criteria are close to being met: electricity, roads, schools, and cultural facilities; 6 criteria: transportation, irrigation, market, income, labor and environment have not yet been met.

Following the district's approval of the rural development planning project with a total investment of 243.33 billion VND in July 2011, the commune immediately began implementing the planned activities. In addition to disseminating information and providing training to Party members and key officials, the commune People's Committee submitted proposals requesting approval for the construction of projects to improve transportation routes within the commune, developed production development projects, projects to support livelihoods for people with disabilities and orphans, carried out procedures to request the construction of a clean factory, and established and publicized the road network plan for all 11 hamlets.

In addition to the above, implementing Directive No. 08 of the Provincial Party Committee on promoting land consolidation and exchange, the commune promptly directed the completion of land conversion (also one of the criteria for New Rural Development) with a total budget of 8.7 billion VND, of which the people contributed 7 billion VND, including donating 2.5 hectares of land (4 m² per person).²), improving irrigation and transportation infrastructure, and reclaiming farmland; the commune budget allocated 1.7 billion VND; procedures were established for investment and construction of 2.7 km of new concrete roads under the province's cement support program, totaling 3.3 billion VND; 180 million VND was invested in upgrading the commune's broadcasting system; craft villages were established, and currently, 2 craft villages have been recognized by the district and 1 by the province; the construction of the Party Committee and People's Committee office building was completed with a total cost of 5 billion VND….

It can be said that, at this point, with the completion of 15-16 out of 19 criteria for New Rural Development, Quynh Hau is one of the bright spots in New Rural Development construction in Quynh Luu district. In fact, from implementing New Rural Development construction before the approval decision of the District People's Committee in Quynh Hau and Ngoc Son, Quynh Luu district evaluated and learned from experience, selecting 3 communes (including Quynh Luong) to build New Rural Development according to the approved plan, and now there are 8 communes.

The results of the New Rural Development program in Quynh Hau commune are very encouraging, but in our conversation, Mr. Nguyen Tran Cuong, Chairman of the People's Committee of the commune, humbly stated that the number of criteria achieved is not as important as ensuring that the survey and construction process is truly objective and substantive. Mr. Cuong said that for Quynh Hau, there are still some difficulties that require strenuous efforts and a long time to achieve, such as the income criterion (1.4 times the provincial average), the labor structure requiring less than 35% of the workforce to be engaged in agriculture, multi-functional classrooms, irrigation and drainage canal systems, waste disposal sites that conform to the planning, and environmental sanitation.

We believe that the experiences and difficulties of Quynh Hau are valuable lessons for other localities and relevant levels and sectors to consider. From the practical experience of building new rural areas in Quynh Hau, we realize that the people are the ones who benefit, so the number of criteria completed is not as important as making people see the benefits and voluntarily contribute their labor and effort; we should not be overly formal in completing criteria, as this could negatively impact and disrupt people's lives.

Nguyen Hai