Quy Hop district dialogues with people to resolve land conflicts in Long Thanh

Attending the dialogue were Mr. Ho Le Ngoc - Member of the Provincial Party Executive Committee, Secretary of the District Party Committee, along with members of the District Party Standing Committee, representatives of leaders of departments, offices and functional units in the area; Party Committee, government of Tam Hop commune and 60 people of Long Thanh hamlet.Mr. Nguyen Dinh Tung - Chairman of Quy Hop District People's Committee chaired the dialogue.

Clarifying 6 people's petitions

As reported by Baonghean.vn on August 15, 2019 in the article "Clarifying the incident, strictly handling violations in Quy Hop", inOn August 2, 2019, in Long Thanh hamlet, a scuffle occurred between Long Thanh hamlet residents and Dong Hop Forestry officials and workers.

Clarifying the incident and strictly handling violations in Quy Hop

(Baonghean) - Using the excuse of reclaiming and restoring the land, on the morning of August 2, 2019, people in Long Thanh hamlet, Tam Hop commune (Quy Hop) went to the hill area in sub-region 278, where the State assigned the management and use rights to Dong Hop Forestry Farm, to dig holes and plant acacia trees...

On August 14, the representative of Long Thanh hamlet, Mr. Ho Van Kiem - Hamlet Chief, reported on 6 petitions and recommendations sent by the people to the People's Committee of Quy Hop district.

The incident in Long Thanh hamlet on August 2, 2019. Photo: Huy Nham

6 comments requesting clarification on the implementation of land allocation records for forestry enterprises in Long Thanh hamlet in particular and Tam Hop commune in general, but not informing the people; requesting to re-examine the land allocation records of Dong Hop Forest Enterprise to see if they are in accordance with the procedures according to the 2003 Land Law or not; requesting to provide a detailed map of land recovery of Dong Hop Forest Enterprise to hand over to the people of Long Thanh hamlet according to the Appendix of Decision No. 212 of the Provincial People's Committee;

Propose to implement Decision 203/QD-UBND of the Provincial People's Committee and clearly explain why there is a delay of 1 year and 4 months after the effective date of the above Decision? Propose to reclaim 6.7 hectares of land in Nghia Hung commune that is being cultivated by Long Thanh hamlet. Propose to clarify the responsibility of Dong Hop Forestry Enterprise in implementing the policy of supporting forest planting according to Decision 147/QD-TTg and amended according to Decision 66/2011/QD-TTg.

The dialogue was held at the headquarters of the People's Committee of Tam Hop commune. Photo: Nhat Lan

Upon receiving the report synthesizing these recommendations, on August 27, 2018, the People's Committee of Quy Hop district issued document No. 713/UBND-TN.NN in response to the people of Long Thanh hamlet.However, at the dialogue session, the Chairman of the People's Committee of Quy Hop district assigned a representative of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment to report this content.

Accordingly,Dong Hop Forestry Enterprise belongs to Song Hieu LCN One Member Co., Ltd. This company was assigned by the General Department of Forestry to manage the entire forest area and forest land planned in Regulation No. 1874/TC/LN dated September 6, 1965; Dong Hop Forestry Enterprise was established in Decision No. 485TC-LN dated September 19, 1989, and was assigned by the Minister of Forestry to manage the communes of Tam Hop, Yen Hop, Dong Hop and part of Tho Hop commune in Decision No. 104LN/KL dated March 3, 1989. Therefore, the People's Committee of Tam Hop commune and the district's departments and offices made a dossier to request the issuance of a land use right certificate to Dong Hop Forestry Enterprise in accordance with regulations.

Leaders of Quy Hop District Party Committee attended the dialogue. Photo: Nhat Lan

Regarding the authority to grant land use right certificates to Dong Hop Forestry Farm, it belongs to the authority of the Provincial People's Committee.The issuance of land use right certificates of Dong Hop Forestry Farm is carried out in accordance with the 1993 Land Law.Dong Hop Forestry has all the required documents and papers to issue land use right certificates according to regulations, including:Land use right registration application dated April 15, 2003, confirmed by Tam Hop Commune People's Committee on June 2, 2003, attached with the List of land lots of Dong Hop Forestry Farm applying for land use right registration in Tam Hop Commune, Quy Hop District, sheet No. 1, No. 2 dated April 15, 2003;

Decision No. 31/CP dated March 8, 1965 of the Prime Minister on the planning of the Song Hieu forestry and industrial zone; Regulation No. 1874/TC/LN dated September 6, 1965 of the General Department of Forestry on the tasks, powers and organizational structure of the Song Hieu Forestry Industry Company; Decision No. 104 LN/LL dated March 3, 1989 of the Minister of Forestry, allocating forests and forestry land to the Song Hieu Agricultural and Industrial Union;

Decision No. 485 TC-LD dated September 19, 1989 of the Ministry of Forestry, on the establishment of a new forest farm under the Song Hieu Industrial Forestry Union; Minutes of boundary agreement (June 2, 2003) between the People's Committee of Tam Hop commune, Dong Hop Forest Farm, the Department of Land Administration and the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of the district; Submission No. 29/TT-UB dated June 2, 2003 of the People's Committee of Tam Hop commune on the issuance of land use right certificates to Dong Hop Forest Farm...

Regarding the Map and Appendix attached to Decision No. 212/QD-UBND.DC dated August 24, 2012 of the Provincial People's Committee, the District People's Committee has sent along Document No. 713/UBND-TN/NN in response to comments and recommendations for households. In fact, the land area that Long Thanh hamlet people are using is larger than Decision No. 212/QD-UBND.DC of the Provincial People's Committee.

Representatives of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment show the boundaries of land areas on the map attached to Decision 203 to the people of Long Thanh hamlet. Photo: Nhat Lan

The reason is that detailed measurements according to the official cadastral map have high accuracy while the recovered area is taken from the results of screening and delineation, not detailed measurements but determined by handheld GPS, by lots and sections of each area. In the coming time, the District People's Committee will continue to direct the Tam Hop Commune People's Committee to speed up the process of preparing records and issuing land use right certificates to the people of Tam Hop Commune, especially households that have been allocated recovered land according to Decision No. 212 in Long Thanh hamlet, Tam Hop Commune.

Regarding the land allocation for the recovered area according to Decision 203/QD-UBND.DC dated April 12, 2018 of the Provincial People's Committee, currently, the District People's Committee has not received the land allocation plan from the Tam Hop Commune People's Committee, so there is no basis for appraisal and approval. The District People's Committee will direct the Tam Hop Commune People's Committee to speed up the review process, develop a land allocation plan and submit it to the District People's Committee for approval as soon as possible to allocate land and issue land use right certificates to people to stabilize production.

Regarding the proposal to reclaim 6.7 hectares of land that people in Nghia Hung commune have been cultivating. According to the provisions of Point b, Clause 2, Article 15 of Decree No. 118/2014/ND-CP, the land that households and individuals in Nghia Hung commune are using can continue to be used in the form of land allocation without collecting land use fees or land lease. Therefore, the proposal to the District People's Committee to reclaim it is not possible.

VI would like to request clarification of the responsibility of Dong Hop Forestry Enterprise in implementing policies to support forest planting. Households of Long Thanh hamlet have signed contracts with Dong Hop Forestry Enterprise under a 49/51 joint venture agreement (from 2017, it is a 30/70 joint venture). Pursuant to Clause 1, Clause 2, Article 5 of Decision 147/2007/QDTTg dated September 10, 2007, cases of contracts with forestry enterprises to plant forests are not eligible for support policies according toDecision 147/QD-TTg (amended by Decision 66/2011/QD-TTg).

After the representative of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment reported the contents in document 713/UBND-TN.NN, chairing the information dialogue session:As of August 30, 2019, Long Thanh hamlet residents continued to submit a written petition. Therefore, we request Mr. Vy Thanh Tuong - Vice Chairman of the District People's Committee to respond.

In the new recommendations, it is worth noting the content: Long Thanh hamlet residents have reclaimed land and lived there since 1981 until now, but why did Tam Hop Commune People's Committee and Quy Hop District People's Committee confirm the land allocation dossier for Dong Hop Forestry Farm in Long Thanh hamlet in particular and in Tam Hop commune in general for the Provincial People's Committee to approve on August 29, 2003 without informing Long Thanh hamlet residents? Meanwhile, the hilly land area of ​​the people currently engaged in agricultural production (growing rice, growing cassava...) is now the area being jointly planted with Dong Hop Forestry Farm?

Vice Chairman of Quy Hop District People's Committee, Mr. Vy Thanh Tuong answered the petition of Long Thanh hamlet residents. Photo: Huy Nham

Responding to this content, Mr. Vy Thanh Tuong affirmed that the response in Official Dispatch No. 713/UBND-TN.NN dated August 27, 2019 of the People's Committee of Quy Hop district is in accordance with the provisions of law. The Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Quy Hop district reiterated the State's issuance of decisions to establish and allocate land to Song Hieu LNN One Member Co., Ltd. and Dong Hop Forestry Farm in 1965 and 1989 to affirm that the People's Committee of Tam Hop commune and the People's Committee of Quy Hop district did not deprive the people of their land use rights to grant land use rights to Dong Hop Forestry Farm; ifSome households in Long Thanh hamlet have been producing and cultivating on Dong Hop Forestry's land since 1981, but the land use rights still belong to Dong Hop Forestry.

Ready to address new recommendations

After Mr. Vy Thanh Tuong finished answering the petitions, there were 13 opinions and petitions from representatives of Long Thanh hamlet residents. The main content focused on continuing to request the People's Committee of Quy Hop district to clarify the granting of land use rights to Dong Hop Forestry Enterprise. Because the people who came to Quy Hop for new economic development were following the call of the province, they have been reclaiming and restoring the land since 1981. While Dong Hop Forestry Enterprise did not impact the land during this period;

A resident of Long Thanh hamlet spoke at the dialogue. Photo: Nhat Lan

It is recommended to review the responsibility of the People's Committee of Tam Hop Commune in confirming Dong Hop Forestry Farm so that the state agency can grant land use rights to this unit; it is recommended to clarify the division of profits from the forest planting project (Project 327) between the people and Dong Hop Forestry Farm. The people also believe that the issuance of the decision to impose an administrative penalty on Mr. Nguyen Tien Canhbeyond the authority of the Chairman of the District People's Committee, request reconsideration...

In response to some opinions that the authorities of Quy Hop district did not pay attention to handling the brawl on August 2, 2019 in Long Thanh hamlet, Lieutenant Colonel Hoang Nghia Tu - Deputy Head of the District Police reported on some of the contents that the District Police had implemented. Accordingly, after the incident occurred, the Quy Hop District Police received the crime report; and have continued to investigate and clarify the acts of intentionally causing injury, disturbing public order and destroying property. The investigation is carried out in accordance with the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code, ensuring objectivity with close supervision of the Procuracy. "When there are specific results, the Quy Hop District Police will issue a written notice..." - Lieutenant Colonel Hoang Nghia Tu affirmed.

Lieutenant Colonel Hoang Nghia Tu - Deputy Chief of Quy Hop District Police informed about some issues that the District Police are handling after the scuffle occurred in Long Thanh hamlet. Photo: Nhat Lan

Receiving the opinions and recommendations of Long Thanh hamlet residents, Chairman of Quy Hop District People's Committee, Mr. Nguyen Dinh Tung continued to clarify the establishment of Song Hieu Forest Industry Company; the changes of this company over time (to date is Song Hieu Forest Industry Company Limited) to confirm that the state's issuance of land use right certificate to Dong Hop Forestry Farm in 2003 was based on the land area previously granted to Song Hieu Forest Industry Company.

Regarding the opinion that the Chairman of the District People's Committee issued a decision to administratively sanction Mr. Nguyen Tien Canh exceeding his authority, he said that the person with the opinion is confusing the settlement of land disputes with the handling of administrative violations in the land sector.

The Chairman of the People’s Committee of Quy Hop district proposed: “According to regulations, citizens have the right to appeal administrative penalty decisions, or file a lawsuit in court. If they still believe that the Chairman of the People’s Committee of the district has exceeded his authority, they can file a complaint or file a lawsuit in court to ensure objectivity…”.

Chairman of Quy Hop District People's Committee, Mr. Nguyen Dinh Tung answered some recommendations at the dialogue session. Photo: Nhat Lan

The host of the dialogue also discussed 13 suggestions from the people, some of which have been answered, but some have new content. For suggestions within the authority, the People's Committee of Quy Hop district will be responsible for clarifying and responding; for suggestions not within the authority, the petitioners will be transferred or guided to competent authorities for resolution.

The Chairman of the District People's Committee also requested that people continue to study related documents. If there are any new recommendations, they should be drafted into documents and sent to the District People's Committee for consideration and resolution.