Ke Tat resettlement area: When will the appointment be missed?

(Baonghean) - Returning to the Ke Tat resettlement area, Thach Ngan commune (Con Cuong), we still saw dozens of empty houses standing "barely" like a few years ago. So the Dan Lai people in the upper Khe Khang river still do not have the opportunity to return to live on this land.

The road from the center of Thach Ngan commune to the resettlement areas of Ke Da, Ke Tat and Ba Ha has been paved with smooth asphalt, making travel easier, no longer as difficult and arduous as 3-4 years ago. Stopping at Thach Son village, the resettlement site of 42 Dan Lai households since 2007, it is now covered with green acacia forests, cassava fields and rice fields. Looking at the face of Thach Son, everyone can see that the lives of the people here are gradually stabilizing, the Dan Lai people have become accustomed to the new way of doing business. However, not far away, the resettlement area of ​​Ke Tat village is still under construction and abandoned. The beautifully designed stilt houses, located close together along the asphalt road, are deserted, surrounded by dense grass and weeds. In particular, there are 9 houses that have only just been built with frames, not covered or protected, so all items have signs of deterioration. Schools and cultural houses also suffer the same fate, becoming a place for buffalo and cows to live and are also deteriorating and damaged due to lack of use and maintenance. Clean water facilities are also exposed to rain and sun, surrounded by wild plants and have become a shelter for snakes and centipedes. At the same time, the area of ​​rice fields and fertile land that has been invested in for reclamation and production is also in a state of abandonment.

The house is finished but no one lives there yet.

The Ke Tat resettlement area is one of three components of the Project "Conservation and sustainable development of the Dan Lai ethnic minority living in the core zone of Pu Mat National Park" approved by the Prime Minister in late 2006. This component was built to support production development and stabilize the lives of 35 Dan Lai households living upstream of Khe Khang (Mon Son). The scale of the project includes the construction of 35 stilt houses and auxiliary works, 5 classrooms, 3 teachers' houses, a cultural house, a medical station, and public toilets. The auxiliary works include foundations, fences, gates, yards, roads, clean water tanks, reservoirs, and the reclamation and renovation of 10.75 hectares of open fields. The total approved investment is nearly 37 billion VND. But up to now, only the reclamation of rice fields and 26/35 concrete stilt houses have been completed, the remaining 9 houses and other items are still unfinished. The prolonged and unfinished construction has caused a waste of capital and resources, specifically land resources. Meanwhile, the Dan Lai people in the upstream area of ​​Khe Khang are still facing many difficulties and are looking forward to stabilizing their lives.

It is worth mentioning that the progress of the Project was to be implemented within 3 years (from 2007-2009), but now it has been delayed for 6 years and has not been completed yet. Explaining the reason, the People's Committee of Con Cuong district said that the project is located in a remote, mountainous area with difficult traffic and low educational level. Along with that is the increase in the price of materials and supplies, the actual total investment is much larger than the initially approved value. Meanwhile, the investment budget is large but the annual allocation rate is low.

Recently, Mr. Hoang Viet Duong, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee, Head of the Steering Committee for the Project implementation, had a working session with members who are leaders of relevant departments, branches and Con Cuong district to find ways to remove difficulties and obstacles. After inspecting the field and listening to opinions from many sides, the Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee requested relevant agencies to actively follow up to remove difficulties and obstacles, promote coordination and integration so that the Project's goals can be completed soon, helping Dan Lai people to stabilize their lives soon. Hopefully, 35 Dan Lai households will no longer be "missing appointments" with the Ke Tat resettlement area.

Tuong Anh