There is no legal basis to resolve the land reclaim of Ben Thuy Stevedoring Cooperative members.

(Baonghean.vn) -On the afternoon of May 31, Vinh City People's Committee held a press conference to announce the results of the settlement of petitions from families who were former members of Ben Thuy Stevedoring Cooperative (formerly) regarding the site clearance for the project to build a trade center, service hotel, houses and luxury villas in block 13 (Ben Thuy ward, Vinh city) invested by Thanh Thai Thinh Company Limited.

Attending the press conference were leaders of a number of provincial departments, agencies and branches; leaders of Vinh City; representatives of central and local press agencies located in the province.



Overview of the press conference

Previously, on November 22, 2012, Vinh City People's Committee issued Decision No. 6483 approving the detailed plan on compensation and support for site clearance for the project of Trade Center, Service Hotel, Housing and Luxury Villas in Ben Thuy Ward, invested by Thanh Thai Thinh Company Limited.

By the end of April 2011, a number of households who were formerly members of the Ben Thuy Stevedoring Cooperative filed a petition requesting the state to compensate them for their land because they had previously used the land in the above project for agricultural production purposes. These households filed a petition in large numbers, going beyond the authority.

After receiving instructions from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, the Provincial People's Committee, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment, the Nghe An Provincial Cooperative Union, and the Vinh City People's Committee reviewed and organized dialogues with a number of citizens who submitted petitions, established a working group to continue to propagate and explain legal policies for citizens to understand and comply with, but they still did not agree.

On May 16, 2013, Vinh City People's Committee continued to organize a dialogue with citizens (8th time) with the participation of provincial leaders and related departments and branches, continuing to unanimously affirm the following contents: There is no legal basis to resolve the land reclaimation, compensation and support requests for households who were former members of the Loading and Unloading Cooperative when the state reclaimed land to implement the project because these households did not have documents proving land use rights and did not use the land at the time the state reclaimed the land as well as many years before, the households did not specify the area that needed compensation and support... The households complained about the Provincial People's Committee's decision to reclaim land, requested Vinh City People's Committee to issue a decision to resolve the complaint requesting to stop construction activities of the project, which had no basis for resolution.



Reporters asked questions about the process of resolving the incident.

At the press conference, leaders of departments and representatives of some newspapers commented that Vinh City's process of handling the incident was clear and reasonable and suggested that Vinh City continue to dialogue and explain so that the households with complaints can understand the issue. Concluding the press conference, Vinh City leaders thanked the contributions of the press agencies, departments, branches and sectors, and affirmed that the households' request for compensation and support at the above-mentioned project was not in accordance with regulations; allowing the investor to continue construction, if there is any obstruction, it must be reported to state agencies for handling according to the law.

Duc Chuyen