Resettlement area in Thanh Chuong has been stalled for 14 years.
For over 14 years, the Khe Mừ resettlement project in Thanh Chương district has remained stalled, while many fishing families yearn to move ashore.
The fishermen are eagerly awaiting the day they can return to shore.
From the Ho Chi Minh Trail, following a winding forest path, one can reach the Khe Mu resettlement area in Thanh Thuy commune, Thanh Chuong district. Reporters observed that the infrastructure, including the paved road leading from the Ho Chi Minh Trail to the resettlement area (approximately 5 km), was completed many years ago but has now deteriorated, with many sections of asphalt peeling and crumbling.
The facilities in the resettlement area are dilapidated. The two community cultural centers, completed recently, have deteriorated, with cracked steps that have become a place for local people to raise bees and graze livestock. Around the vacant land in the resettlement area, trees have grown profusely, and many areas have been encroached upon by residents to plant acacia trees.
Mr. Tran Van Tien, a fisherman from Minh Duc hamlet, Vo Liet commune, shared: "Our family is eligible for resettlement in Khe Mu. We registered a long time ago, but so far there has been no progress. For years, we've had to live a precarious life fishing on the river, facing hardship during the rainy season and floods."
Upon investigation, it was learned that some households have built houses on the banks of the Lam River or purchased land elsewhere. According to local residents, although they know the construction is illegal, they had to build temporary shelters on the riverbank to protect themselves from the sun and rain because they had waited too long to be relocated to the resettlement area.
The resettlement area is left unfinished.
On April 21, 2009, the People's Committee of Nghe An province issued Decision No. 1479 allowing the establishment of the project: "Construction of model resettlement areas for fishing households on the Lam River and in particularly difficult areas of Thanh Chuong district".
This project, initially invested by the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, had a capital of 74 billion VND. After the second planning adjustment, the project's investment capital was increased to over 84 billion VND (from central government funds and matching funds from Nghe An province). Dai Cat Thanh Joint Stock Company (headquartered in Hanoi) was the winning bidder for the project's construction.
It is expected that after the project is completed, 165 fishing households on the Lam River in Thanh Chuong district will be relocated to two resettlement sites: Khe Mu (Thanh Thuy commune) and Trieu Duong (Thanh Lam commune).
Of these, the largest number of resettled people are from Van Tai hamlet, Vo Liet commune (now called Minh Duc hamlet), Giang Thuy hamlet (Thanh Giang commune), while the rest are scattered across Phong Thinh, Thanh Ha, Thanh Yen communes, Block 6 of Dung town...
On May 7, 2010, the resettlement project for fishing villages at Khe Mu, Thanh Thuy commune and Trieu Duong, Thanh Lam commune, Thanh Chuong district, commenced. To date, the Trieu Duong resettlement site has been completed and put into use since 2015, providing housing for 45 households. However, the Khe Mu resettlement site, intended to accommodate 120 households scattered along the river in Vo Liet, Thanh Chi, Phong Thinh communes and Thanh Chuong town, remains stalled.
A solution is needed. arearepredeterminedKhe Mu
Discussion on the need for a solution regarding the Khe Mừ resettlement area. According to Mr. Le Van Luong, Head of the Rural Development Sub-Department of Nghe An province, the Khe Mu resettlement area project has completed all infrastructure items according to the approved design and has been approved for acceptance by relevant departments and agencies for handover to the locality since 2023.
Mr. Le Dinh Thanh, Vice Chairman of the Thanh Chuong District People's Committee, said: Regarding the Khe Mu resettlement area, although the investor has handed over the land, there are still many difficulties, including the lack of a specific plan for handing over residential and production land to the resettled people, so the people have not yet been able to move to their new homes.
Currently, to allocate land to resettled households, the following steps must be taken: adjusting the land use plan and developing a land use plan specifying how much residential and agricultural land each resettled household is entitled to.
Regarding Thanh Chuong district, they are currently actively directing relevant departments and consulting units to conduct field surveys and compare them with existing records to develop a land use plan for submission to competent authorities for approval.
It is expected that by 2025, the District People's Committee will have completed the land use plan, submitted it to the competent authority for approval, and handed it over to the resettled people of Khe Mừ.
To date, some construction projects in the Khe Mu resettlement area have been completed and handed over to the Thanh Thuy Commune People's Committee for management. However, since the project was approved in 2009, some items need to be supplemented to comply with current regulations and according to the opinions of provincial departments and agencies, the District People's Committee, and the Thanh Thuy Commune People's Committee.
Specifically, the kindergarten and community cultural center lack gates and protective fences, which will affect their operation. Therefore, Thanh Chuong district requests the investor to add gates, fences, technical infrastructure (entrances, yards, drainage ditches, etc.), as well as fire protection systems, ladders, and covers for access points to the roof.
It is understood that due to the prolonged project implementation period, the number of households needing to relocate to the resettlement area has changed. Specifically, over time, quite a number of households slated for relocation have either moved within their current location or purchased land and built houses elsewhere, no longer having a need to relocate to the Khe Mừ resettlement area.
According to a review by Thanh Chuong district, 46 out of 120 households have either relocated on their own or purchased land to build houses. Therefore, after completing land procedures and conducting a lottery for plot allocation, the district will conduct a final survey to determine the remaining resettlement needs of the residents.
