Nghe An assigned 4 Departments and the People's Committee of Cua Lo town to advise on handling illegal sand exploitation.
(Baonghean.vn) - The Department of Natural Resources and Environment was assigned by the Provincial People's Committee to preside over and coordinate with the Departments of Justice, Tourism, Agriculture and Rural Development; and the People's Committee of Cua Lo town to advise on handling the illegal exploitation of sea sand for building the positive slope of the Cua Lo sea embankment project.
This is the content of Document No. 3290/UBND-NC dated April 25, 2024 of the Provincial People's Committee "On consulting on handling administrative violations in the field of minerals" sent to the Departments: Natural Resources and Environment, Justice, Tourism, Agriculture and Rural Development; People's Committee of Cua Lo town.
Specifically, Document No. 3290/UBND-NC clearly states:
“Considering the proposal of the People's Committee of Cua Lo town in Official Dispatch No. 607/UBND-TN dated April 17, 2024 regarding violations of sand mining at Cua Lo beach, Permanent Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Le Hong Vinh has the following opinion:
The Department of Natural Resources and Environment shall preside over and coordinate with the Departments of Justice, Tourism, Agriculture and Rural Development; the People's Committee of Cua Lo town to advise the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee to handle the above administrative violation case to ensure compliance with the provisions of law (note: The units assigned to coordinate and advise on handling the administrative violation case must have clear opinions and opinions on the professional field under the responsibility of the sector regarding the above violation case).
Assign the People's Committee of Cua Lo town to provide the above administrative violation case file to the Departments of Natural Resources and Environment, Justice, Tourism, Agriculture and Rural Development; before April 30, 2024.
Report results to the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee before May 10, 2024".
Regarding the incident of sand dredging for construction of seawalls at Cua Lo beach, after receiving press information, on April 16, 2024, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment issued Document No. 2433/STNMT-KS "On handling the situation of illegal mineral exploitation in Cua Lo town" to the People's Committee of Cua Lo town.
The content of Document No. 2433/STNMT-KS mentioned that Nghe An Newspaper on April 15, 2024 had an article: “Cua Lo Town discovered a case of illegal sand mining."reflecting that the contractor is illegally exploiting minerals, specifically exploiting sea sand to construct sea dykes.
At the same time, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment cited Directive No. 20-CT/TU dated December 28, 2022 of the Provincial Party Committee Standing Committee on strengthening the Party's leadership over State management of minerals in Nghe An province; Decision No. 1562/QD-UBND dated June 1, 2023 of the Provincial People's Committee promulgating the action program to implement Plan No. 123-KH/TU dated September 12, 2022 and Directive No. 20-CT/TU dated December 28, 2022 of the Provincial Party Committee Standing Committee; Decision No. 47/2017/QD-UBND dated June 1, 2017 of the Provincial People's Committee promulgating the Regulation on coordination in State management of minerals in the province...
Accordingly, the People's Committee of Cua Lo town is requested to base on its assigned functions and tasks to "inspect, verify, and strictly handle violations (if any) according to the provisions of law. In addition, it is necessary to return the land, ensuring absolute safety for people in the beach area. The results of the inspection and handling must be sent to the Provincial People's Committee, the Department of Information and Communications, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment and reply to Nghe An Newspaper before April 22, 2024".
Regarding Official Dispatch No. 607/UBND-TN dated April 17, 2024 of the People's Committee of Cua Lo town, mentioned by the Provincial People's Committee in Document No. 3290/UBND-NC dated April 25, 2024, to report the illegal exploitation of sea sand by Tan Hung Limited Liability Company, discovered at 8:30 a.m. on April 15, 2024. This incident took place at the beach area in front of the Golf course gate, in My Thang block, Nghi Huong ward, Cua Lo town. Tan Hung Limited Liability Company, the construction unit of the sea embankment project, carried out the act of dredging sand on the beach to build a positive slope on the western embankment adjacent to the park on the eastern side of Binh Minh street, affecting the beach.
Immediately after discovering the incident, the Town People's Committee directed the following departments: Urban Management; Natural Resources and Environment; Urban Order Management Team; Town Police, Nghi Huong Ward People's Committee to conduct an inspection, draw up a record requesting to stop construction and a record of handling administrative violations; at the same time, requested the Project Management Board under the Department of Tourism to direct the contractor to repair and level the beach surface.
According to the People's Committee of Cua Lo town, after checking the design documents and construction drawings of the sea dike project, in the category of filling soil to ensure the retention of the positive slope of the sea dike (sand pumping to maintain the positive slope), there was no clear statement about sand pumping on the beach. At the time of inspection, 2 sand pumping locations were discovered: Location 1 has an area of 232.2m2 , 1.5m deep; location 2 has an area of 202.9m2, 1m deep; the total volume of sea sand sucked at two locations is 551.2m3.
Pursuant to Point e, Clause 1, Article 48, Decree 04/2022/ND-CP dated January 6, 2022 of the Government amending Article 48, Decree No. 36/2020/ND-CP, the construction unit violated the law when exploiting sand and gravel from rivers, streams, lakes, and estuaries; sand and gravel in coastal inland waters without a mineral exploitation license from a competent state agency.
According to the provisions of Point e, Clause 1, Article 48, Decree No. 04/ND-CP dated January 6, 2022 amending Article 48/2020/ND-CP dated February 24, 2020, when the total volume of exploited minerals at the time of detecting the violation is from 50m3 or more, the fine is from 150 million to 200 million VND; and according to the provisions of Clause 3, Article 64, Decree No. 36/2020/ND-CP, the authority to impose administrative sanctions belongs to the Chairman of the People's Committee of Nghe An province. Therefore, the People's Committee of Cua Lo town requests the Provincial People's Committee and the Department of Natural Resources and Environment to consider and decide on handling the violation.
