Not eligible for assistance.

(Baonghean Newspaper) - Recently, Baonghean Newspaper received a complaint from Mr. Tran Dang Luc, residing in Hoa Long hamlet, Hien Son commune (Do Luong district), regarding the fact that he is a 4/4 war invalid who should have received housing support under Decision 22/2013/QD-TTg of the Prime Minister on housing support for people with meritorious services to the revolution, but the People's Committee of Hien Son commune did not include him in the program.list...

TAccording to Mr. Tran Dang Luc, "Based on Government Decision 22 on supporting people with meritorious services to the revolution to demolish dilapidated houses, I have submitted applications many times because my family's economic situation is very difficult, building a new house would incur debt, but it has not been resolved... Some commune officials are selfish towards my family, preventing me from receiving state benefits."

According to our investigation, Mr. Tran Dang Luc is a disabled veteran (category 4/4). On April 23, 2013, he submitted a petition to the Social Policy Committee requesting the Commune People's Committee to provide partial funding for him to build a new house. In his petition, he stated, "My family borrowed 160 million VND to build a level 4 house. This amount is too much, and I am a severely disabled veteran... so I am writing this petition to ask the Commune People's Committee and the Social Policy Committee for 15 million VND to help my family alleviate some of the burden." On May 8, 2013, the Social Policy Committee advised the Commune Council for Meritorious Persons to hold a meeting to consider support for meritorious persons and social welfare beneficiaries, including Mr. Tran Dang Luc, who was approved for housing assistance of 4,000,000 VND, drawn from the gratitude fund. By June 2013, Mr. Tran Dang Luc had completed his new house, which has an area of ​​54m2. However, after the Government issued Decision 22 on supporting revolutionary veterans in building houses, Mr. Luc refused to accept the previously approved support funds from the commune and requested that the commune include him in the list of those eligible for support under Decision 22. The commune did not agree, so he wrote letters to various authorities.

The new home of Mr. Tran Dang Luc's family.

Regarding this matter, Mr. Tran Dang Tuan, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Hien Son commune, said: In accordance with Official Letter No. 1208 of the Department of Construction dated July 26, 2013, on selecting beneficiaries for housing support under Government Decision 22, and other directives from the district and state regulations, the People's Committee of the commune organized a team to conduct on-site surveys of the households of war veterans to provide a basis for requesting state support. On August 14, 2013, the commune's survey team, including members of the Steering Committee and the head of Hoa Long hamlet, visited Mr. Tran Dang Luc's house. The survey revealed that Mr. Luc had built a new house: a spacious and beautiful 54m2 tiled-roof house, which was started in May 2013 and completed and put into use on June 12, 2013 (the survey report clearly states the start and completion dates, and is signed by Mr. Tran Dang Luc - PV). Based on State regulations: Circular No. 09/2013 of the Ministry of Construction, effective from July 15, 2013, provides guidance on identifying and selecting eligible recipients for housing support ("Houses severely damaged and requiring demolition to rebuild new houses..."). According to State regulations, Mr. Tran Dang Luc does not qualify for inclusion in the list of beneficiaries of housing support for meritorious individuals under Decision 22 (because he started construction before the Decision came into effect (June 15, 2013)). Therefore, the Commune People's Committee did not include him in the list of those recommended for State support.

The survey report clearly states that the house was completed on June 12, 2013, and bears the signature of Mr. Tran Dang Luc.

Mr. Nguyen Van Tan, head of the Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs Department of Do Luong district, stated that the time Mr. Tran Dang Luc built his new house, as confirmed by Mr. Luc in the survey report, was before Decision 22 came into effect, not to mention the time when guiding documents from the Ministry of Construction and the Department of Construction were issued. Therefore, according to current regulations, Mr. Tran Dang Luc's house does not qualify for support under Decision 22. Consequently, the People's Committee of Hien Son commune's decision not to include him in the list of beneficiaries of housing support for war invalids is justified and in accordance with regulations.

Regarding this matter, in Official Letter No. 297 dated April 4, 2014, the Chairman of the People's Committee of Do Luong District, Mr. Nguyen Tat Thanh, affirmed: The Prime Minister's Decision took effect from June 15, 2013, but the Ministry of Construction only issued Circular 09/2013/TT-BXD guiding its implementation on July 1, 2013, which also took effect from July 15, 2013. Meanwhile, Mr. Tran Dang Luc had already completed his new, spacious house and put it into use in June 2013. Therefore, Decision No. 22/2013/QD-TTg dated April 26, 2013, and Circular No. 09/2013/TT-BXD cannot be applied. Mr. Le Van Long, Deputy Head of the Department of Meritorious Persons at the Provincial Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs, stated: While Mr. Luc meets the eligibility criteria for support, according to regulations in effect at the time Decision 22 and Circular 09 came into force, his family already owned a house, thus failing to meet the eligibility requirements for support.

To clarify this matter, working with the Department of Construction, we learned that after receiving Mr. Tran Dang Luc's petition, the Department of Construction issued Official Letter No. 224 dated February 13, 2014, to Do Luong District, Hien Son Commune, and Mr. Luc personally. This letter stated: "In Official Letter No. 459/UBND dated December 18, 2013, from the People's Committee of Do Luong District, responding to Mr. Tran Dang Luc's petition, it was noted that 'At the time of the survey of the housing situation of war veterans on August 14, 2013, Mr. Tran Dang Luc had already built a new, spacious 54m2 single-story house.'" However, the effective date of Decision No. 22/2013/QD-TTg and the date for considering housing support was June 15, 2013. Therefore, we request that the People's Committee of Do Luong District direct a re-examination of Mr. Tran Dang Luc's case and base its decision on the regulations in Decision No. 22/2013/QD-TTg. "Refer to Decision No. 22/2013/QD-TTg and Circular No. 09/2013/TT-BXD to determine whether he is eligible for support." Subsequently, the People's Committee of Do Luong District issued a response along with a survey report on the house construction support for Mr. Tran Dang Luc on August 14, 2013. The survey report clearly stated, "The house was started in May 2013 and completed on June 12, 2013." The Department only learned that the construction date was before the Decision and Circular came into effect. Therefore, the conditions for consideration were not met, even though Mr. Luc's house was completed only 3 days before Decision No. 22 came into effect.

Therefore, it can be seen that Mr. Tran Dang Luc's claim that the Hien Son Commune People's Committee did not consider him eligible for housing construction support is incorrect and unfounded, as it is due to selfishness. In reality, when Decision 22 came into effect on June 15, 2013, and Circular 09 came into effect on July 15, 2013, he had already completed his new house (on June 12, 2013). Therefore, he needs to understand that the eligibility for support must be determined according to regulations, and he should not continue to submit applications to multiple places. Furthermore, he should realize that before Decision 22 came into effect, when he applied for housing support, Hien Son Commune had already provided his family with 4 million VND from the local gratitude fund. This shows that the commune has shown concern and provided support to policy beneficiary families like his, and is not being selfish towards his family as he claims.

Mr. Dang Van Phuc, from Hoa Yen hamlet, a relative of a fallen soldier and also a recipient of the 4 million VND housing assistance along with Mr. Tran Dang Luc, stated: "My family also built a house before Decision 22 came into effect, so we didn't dare to ask for more. Moreover, my family had already received 4 million VND in support from the commune when we built our house."

Quang An