Raising legal awareness and reducing land-related violations among the people.

Numerous violations related to land.

Luu Kien is a mountainous commune in the western part of Tuong Duong district, with a natural area of ​​13,950.19 hectares, a total population of 963 households and 4,176 people, and a poverty rate of 28.25%. The commune is home to three ethnic groups: Thai, Mong, and Kinh, with the Thai ethnic group accounting for 91.7%.

Due to limited public awareness, land-related violations such as disputes over adjacent land areas and encroachment on forest land still occur in the commune.

In 2023, local authorities coordinated the handling of 5 cases of administrative violations in the land sector, with fines totaling 5,500,000 VND; and inspected, detected, and documented 5 cases showing signs of violations in the land sector. In 2024, the locality discovered that some households in Luu Phong village encroached on community forest land and land managed by the commune People's Committee to plant cassava, and some households in the neighboring village of Nam Khien, Nam Can commune (Ky Son district) encroached on community forest land in Luu Phong village to plant grass.

After discovering the incident, the People's Committee of Luu Kien commune directed relevant departments to inspect, verify, and prevent further incidents, and to prepare a report for submission to higher authorities for handling according to the law. Regarding the case of Mr. Luong Van Coong, residing in Luu Phong village, who cleared forest land to plant cassava on production forest land allocated to his family, the case file has been completed and transferred to the Forest Protection Department for administrative punishment of 20 million VND.

Besides violations related to encroachment on forest land and disputes over agricultural land, in many border areas with other localities, there is also the phenomenon of long-standing encroachment on cultivated land, which has been resolved many times but without a definitive solution.

For example, through on-site inspections from 2022 to the present, it has been determined that 24 households in Pa Khom village, Tri Le commune, Que Phong district are encroaching on land belonging to Tham Tham village, Nhon Mai commune, Tuong Duong district, for farming, fish ponds, and livestock breeding in plots 3, 5, 6, 9, and 11 of sub-area 507.

At the most recent meeting held in early July 2024, the leaders of Que Phong and Tuong Duong districts signed a memorandum agreeing on solutions to address the issue of encroachment on cultivated land and illegal settlement, preventing the dispute from escalating into a flashpoint.

Que Phong District proposed a plan to encourage people who had illegally encroached on land and settled in Nhon Mai commune to remain there permanently. The two districts also agreed to coordinate with border guards, forest rangers, police, and other relevant agencies to thoroughly investigate and definitively resolve the issue of illegal encroachment. Simultaneously, they will continue to cooperate in educating the public to prevent further violations related to illegal encroachment and settlement.

In some other localities, violations in the field of land use such as arbitrarily changing the purpose of agricultural land to non-agricultural land, arbitrarily changing the current land use status; land encroachment, construction of buildings and houses illegally on agricultural land and traffic safety corridor land still occur in many areas.

Furthermore, in reality, many incidents occur where land disputes lead to marital discord, estranged siblings, estranged neighbors, and even murder, resulting in death and imprisonment.

In the first quarter of 2024, the number of land dispute-related complaints arising in the entire province increased by 10.8%, of which 2,079 complaints were eligible for processing, an increase of 27.4%.

Strengthen communication efforts and raise awareness.

To curb land violations, along with solutions to strengthen state management in this field, local authorities have recently coordinated with relevant agencies to intensify the dissemination of land policies and laws to households, individuals, and communities, aiming to raise awareness of respecting and complying with the law among the people, especially in rural areas and remote regions.

Quỳ Hợp mountainous district has a population of over 115,000 people (ethnic minorities account for over 52%), and a large area, ranking 7th in the province. Due to historical limitations in land management and use, land disputes in the area are increasingly common.

Therefore, according to Mr. Vy Hoang Ha - Head of the Justice Department of Quy Hop district: In addition to effectively applying social media in disseminating and popularizing laws in general, and land-related policies in particular, the District Council for Law Dissemination and Education also goes to localities to organize conferences to disseminate information related to land, especially the groundbreaking new points of the 2024 Land Law, in clusters of communes.

Previously, the District Council for Legal Dissemination and Education advised the District People's Committee to direct the Department of Justice to coordinate with the District People's Court and other departments in the internal affairs sector to develop and issue regulations on coordination in resolving land disputes between the District People's Court and the Chairmen of the People's Committees at the commune level; and regulations on coordination in handling and resolving petitions, disputes, and cases arising in the district between the District People's Committee, the District People's Court, and the District People's Procuracy...

Since 2022, Quy Hop district has established an "Inter-agency Task Force for Handling and Resolving Petitions, Disputes, and Cases Arising in the District." During the implementation of this regulation, the task force has effectively integrated the dissemination and education of land law to officials and the public. In particular, the inter-agency task force's activities, with the combined efforts of many highly qualified officials, have successfully resolved many disputes through mediation and dialogue, avoiding the need for court proceedings.

For example, on June 12, 2024, the inter-agency task force of Quy Hop district successfully mediated a land dispute between households in Nguong village, Chau Cuong commune. Prior to that,,The People's Committee of Chau Cuong commune received a petition from Mr. Vi Van C., a resident of Nguong village, regarding his family's allocation of forest land under Decree 163/CP of 2006. However, during the process of harvesting acacia trees, his family and two other households, Le Thanh B. and Bui Van D., could not agree on the boundary, leading to a dispute.

At the mediation session, the households agreed to return 1.2 hectares to Mr. Vi Van C.'s family, and Mr. Bui Van D. would use 0.6 hectares. Neither party was required to pay any further compensation...

In Dien Chau district, in 2023, the District People's Committee launched the "Saturday for the People" campaign to disseminate legal information, provide advice, and guide administrative procedures in the fields of land, inheritance, contract authentication, and real estate-related transactions in the area.

Accordingly, the "Saturday for the People" activities are organized at the meeting halls of the People's Committees of communes and towns in the district. These include: Propaganda activities conducted by district-level legal lecturers from the Departments of Justice, Natural Resources and Environment; and the Dien Chau District Land Registration Office Branch; and consultation and guidance on completing land-related documents and procedures, notarizing contracts, transactions, inheritance division documents, and refusal of inheritance... carried out by officials from the Departments of Justice, Natural Resources and Environment, the District Land Registration Office, and land administration and civil registry officials of the People's Committees of communes and towns, according to their assigned functions and duties and the provisions of specialized laws.

According to Ms. Hoang Thi Xuyen, Head of the Justice Department of Dien Chau District: To date, the "Saturday for the People" campaign has been implemented in all 37 communes and towns. This is a practical activity that contributes to improving people's access to the law and enhancing the effectiveness of state management of land. At the same time, it helps prevent and deter illegal acts arising from the implementation of administrative procedures related to land, especially those exploiting people's lack of understanding of land-related administrative procedures for personal gain, fraud, and property appropriation.

Currently, in order to create uniformity in awareness and responsibility in the implementation of the 2024 Land Law, the Provincial People's Committee has issued Plan No. 605/KH-UBND on the work of disseminating, publicizing, and training on the implementation of the Land Law and its guiding decrees.

The Provincial People's Committee has assigned the Provincial Radio and Television Station, Nghe An Newspaper, and other local mass media agencies to regularly disseminate information about the Land Law and its implementing guidelines. In addition, the Provincial People's Committee also requests that departments, agencies, and the People's Committees of districts and cities continue to thoroughly understand and implement the 2024 Land Law at all levels, in all sectors, and among all segments of the population so that the law can be put into practice as soon as possible.