Nghe An: Many urgent resettlement projects but slow progress

On the afternoon of October 30, the Ethnic Committee, the Provincial People's Council worked with the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Provincial Ethnic Committee according to the program to monitor the planning and arrangement of concentrated residential areas in the implementation of the investment policy for sustainable development of ethnic minorities in Nghe An province from 2016 to present. Comrade Lo Thi Kim Ngan - Head of the Ethnic Committee, the Provincial People's Council chaired the meeting.

Shortage of more than 480 billion VND

Pursuant to Decision No. 1776/QD-TTg dated November 21, 2012 of the Prime Minister, the People's Committee of Nghe An province issued Decision No. 7468/QD-UBND dated December 30, 2014 approving the master plan for adjusting the overall population arrangement in Nghe An province until 2020 and orientation to 2025.

Working scene. Photo: Thanh Duy

One of the development perspectives according to Decision No. 7468 is to plan population distribution in a way that prioritizes areas at high risk of natural disasters (such as flash floods, landslides, inundation, etc.); Vietnam - Laos border areas, particularly difficult areas prone to spontaneous migration; households residing in special-use forests, etc.

According to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, up to now, the whole province has 21 approved projects that have not been completed, of which 17 projects are being implemented and 4 projects have not been allocated capital for implementation.

Of the 21 approved projects, the ethnic minority region has 13 projects, of which 9 projects are being implemented and 4 projects have not yet been allocated capital, including the districts: Ky Son, Tuong Duong, Con Cuong, Que Phong, Quy Chau, Quy Hop.

The total approved capital for 13 projects in ethnic minority areas is 711 billion 549 million VND, however, the allocated capital to date is 224 billion 837 million VND, meaning there is still a shortage of more than 487 billion VND.

The current situation of capital allocation has resulted in only 3 basic projects being completed, 6 projects being unfinished and 4 projects not being implemented. Therefore, in the period of 2016 - 2019, only 458 ethnic minority households/547 households in the whole province have been allocated.

Resettlement area of ​​Quan village, Lien Hop commune, Quy Hop district. Photo courtesy of Nhat Lan

Through practical supervision of some projects, many members of the supervision team pointed out the reality of many unfinished construction areas, some places without electricity and water, and extremely difficult transportation. Some opinions say that with the current sluggish implementation, the urgency of the projects is losing its meaning.

Review and re-evaluate the actual effectiveness of projects

At the meeting, Deputy Director of Nghe An Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Van Lap said that the reason was that the project had previously been approved but the capital source had not been assessed. Based on the above reality, he suggested that the monitoring delegation recommend that the Provincial People's Committee direct the review of projects to classify, list priority projects, and suspend... to focus on allocating capital to completely handle...

Concluding the meeting, Head of the Ethnic Affairs Committee of the Provincial People's Council Lo Thi Kim Ngan acknowledged the effectiveness of the projects at the completed locations. However, due to lack of capital, many projects are still unfinished, so she requested the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to review and evaluate the actual approved projects, and at the same time review the implementation needs for the 2021 - 2025 period to ensure capital balance for investment needs in the current period and the new period.

Deputy Director of Nghe An Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Van Lap proposed to review the list of projects to determine priority. Photo: Thanh Duy

The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development also needs to guide districts to include resettlement projects in the public investment portfolio for the next phase. The Department of Planning and Investment needs to make a plan to prioritize capital allocation to repay debts of completed projects.

The Provincial Ethnic Committee continues to advise on additional capital sources for implementation according to Decision No. 2085/QD-TTg dated October 31, 2016 of the Prime Minister;...

Lack of capital is also a similar situation when implementing policies according to Decision No. 2085/QD-TTg dated October 31, 2016 of the Prime Minister approving the Specific Policy to support socio-economic development in ethnic minority and mountainous areas for the period 2017-2020.

Accordingly, 9/9 concentrated resettlement projects are under construction due to lack of capital, of which 15 completed items put into use still lack payment capital; 23 items are under construction due to insufficient funding; 24 essential infrastructure items have not been invested; accordingly, the project's objectives have not been achieved.

From 2016 to present, the policy under Decision No. 162/QD-TTg dated January 25, 2016 of the Prime Minister on Approving the plan "Arrangement and stabilization of population for free migrants returning from Laos" has not been funded.