Nam Dan: Enthusiastic land donation for road construction as part of the new rural development program.

(Baonghean) - In 2010,MaleDan district has the honor of being one of the five districts nationwide selected by the Central Government as a pilot area for building new rural areas. From the very beginning of the implementation, the district leaders determined that, in addition to the support from the Central Government and the province, it was necessary to find ways to leverage the internal resources of all segments of the population, especially by mobilizing people to donate land and contribute money to build infrastructure.

In 2011, atMaleIn the district, the donation of land and money for the construction of new rural areas has become a widespread movement. Throughout the district, 14 out of 23 communes have mobilized people to donate land, with 940 households participating and donating 48,997 m2 of land. Notable examples include Hung Tien commune with 433 households donating 19,800 m2; Kim Lien with 93 households donating 8,216 m2; Hong Long with 121 households donating 6,100 m2; Xuan Lam with 60 households donating 4,800 m2; Nam Thanh with 61 households donating 3,050 m2; Nam Thai with 64 households donating 2,833.48 m2; Nam Giang with 25 households donating 1,540 m2; and Nam Kim with 24 households donating 1,162 m2.

For example, the family of Mr. Tran Quang Hoa in Nam Nghia donated 285m2 of garden land and the entire fence; the family of Mr. Tran Van Thang in Nam Thai donated 1,612m2; and the family of Mr. Nguyen Sinh Que in Kim Lien donated 500m2 of rice paddy land worth hundreds of millions of dong. Along with land donations, Nam Dan also focused on mobilizing people to contribute over 30 billion dong to build rural roads, internal field roads, village cultural centers, and schools. For instance, Nam Anh commune mobilized over 2.1 billion dong, Kim Lien and Nam Thanh over 1.8 billion dong, and Nam Hung, a difficult mountainous commune, mobilized over 1 billion dong. The entire district has paved over 70 km of rural and internal field roads; reinforced 19.4 km of irrigation canals; built 7 new kindergartens, 1 primary school, and 2 secondary schools; and upgraded 7 kindergartens, 10 primary schools, and 5 secondary schools. Two new health stations, two commune cultural centers, and twelve village/hamlet cultural centers were built, bringing the total number of villages/hamlets with cultural centers to 327 out of 330, along with many other welfare facilities.

To gain the trust and cooperation of the people in building new rural areas, one indispensable element is the effective implementation of grassroots democracy regulations, coupled with the development of "skillful people mobilization" models in encouraging people to donate land and contribute money to infrastructure development. First and foremost, the district Party committee and government directed communes and towns to carry out propaganda work to ensure people understand the purpose and significance of the National Target Program for Building New Rural Areas. In addition to broadcasting on the radio and mass media, in 2011, the Steering Committee, in coordination with the District Farmers' Association, organized a competition to learn about the National Target Program for Building New Rural Areas in two forms: written and theatrical performances, which were broadcast live on the radio system.

Along with propaganda efforts, the process of mobilizing people to donate land must be carried out democratically and genuinely in all stages, such as: informing people about investment policies, plans, and construction projects, and the benefits people will receive after the project is completed; establishing mobilization committees at the commune and village levels; organizing democratic meetings at the commune level to explain the project content and implement the plan to mobilize the people. Mobilizing cadres and Party members first, then the general public, with the motto "Perseverance, not giving up, and not quitting."

Tran Thi Hien