'Without courage in planning, there would be no Vinh City today'

(Baonghean.vn) - Former leader of Nghe An province shared at the National Assembly meeting: "Vinh City planning was designed by architects from the German Democratic Republic, if not strictly followed, it cannot be maintained as it is today... The important thing is to have the courage of the manager and the compliance of the people".

Delegate Phan Dinh Trac spoke at the discussion session on the morning of November 9.

Giving his opinion at the group discussion session this morning (November 9) on the draft Law on Planning, National Assembly delegate of Nghe An province, Mr. Phan Dinh Trac shared that he is most concerned about the quality and stability of the planning, in addition to compliance so that the planning is not frequently adjusted.

"Planning must ensure quality and stability but must also be consistent with the market mechanism. Today, when the price of rubber goes up, people compete to plant rubber. Today, when the price of cassava goes down, people stop planting cassava... The problem is that planners must ensure the quality of the planning, must ensure stability and long-term sustainability," said Mr. Trac.

The Head of the Central Internal Affairs Committee said that in order for planning to be of quality, the planner himself must be responsible and have a good mindset, and the appraiser must be strict, not presenting a thick file that no one can "look" at, submitting it to superiors for signature, and then when it comes to reality, "realizing" that the planning is unreasonable and entangled.

Mr. Phan Dinh Trac also said that no matter how long the planning is, it will have to change, it cannot be conservative, but the most important thing is to adjust the planning closely, not arbitrarily - this is a very dangerous problem.

Raising the issue of planning compliance, the former leader of Nghe An province recounted: "Vinh City's planning was designed by architects from the German Democratic Republic. If it is not strictly followed, it cannot be maintained as it is today. If just one house is built in violation of the planning, it will be immediately reported, not just left to be built haphazardly, and once built, it cannot be demolished. The important thing is to have the courage of the manager and the compliance of the people."

Sharing the same view, Mr. Ho Duc Phoc commented that the draft Law on Planning needs to have specific regulations on planning adjustment, which according to Mr. Phoc, is one of the most important points in the planning issue.

"If the planning is approved but there are no regulations on adjustments, it will be meaningless," Mr. Phoc commented. According to him, if planning adjustments are allowed to occur, it will greatly affect management issues. For example, with urban planning, if there are no strict regulations in the law, after the planning is approved, the competent authority will approve other adjustments.

"While planning must be approved by a wide public consultation, when planning is adjusted, no one knows. As long as a business requests it, the competent authority will approve and allow the adjustment of the construction of hotels and shopping malls in parks and entertainment areas, which is the source of traffic jams and disruptions. How should we handle it then?" - State Auditor General Ho Duc Phoc commented.

Therefore, according to him, it is necessary to clearly stipulate in the Law on planning adjustment, to require strict compliance with procedures and appraisal procedures, to avoid arbitrary adjustments and violations. In addition, the delegate also proposed to include the content of "adjusting against planning" in the prohibited content.

According to the draft Law presented by Minister Nguyen Chi Dung, in recent times, the situation of making too many ineffective plans, causing waste of resources, has been happening in all ministries, branches, and localities and is on the rise. In the period 2001 - 2010, the number of plans made was 3,114, while in the period 2011 - 2020, the number of plans that had to be made was 19,285 plans of all kinds (an increase of 6 times).

The term “planning” is often abused. Many sectors and fields only need to develop projects, development programs or establish criteria for management and make forecasts, orientations, and development policies, which are also made into plans, causing waste of resources. Many regional plans are made but the management objects are not clear, and the responsibilities of the implementation organization are not specified, so they cannot be implemented.

In addition, many plans have been approved but not implemented due to the lack of resolute direction and management from all levels and sectors or the lack of direct management and administration agencies. Therefore, many projects identified as “priority investment” in the plan are “suspended”, not implemented or delayed.

Therefore, the Government believes that the promulgation of the Planning Law is necessary and urgent at present to overcome the limitations and weaknesses of planning work.

Duong Gim