People have not agreed to merge the hamlets because they have not been compensated.

The stream has not yet been compensated.

The project to upgrade and expand Nam Dan sluice and canal system, phase 1 of the construction of a new Nam Dan sluice was approved by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development with a total investment of over 530 billion VND, and started in April 2010. This project, after completion, will provide irrigation water for 20,000 hectares of downstream areas in 5 districts, cities and towns: Nam Dan, Hung Nguyen, Nghi Loc, Cua Lo town, Vinh city.

Due to additional items, on November 20, 2017, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development decided to adjust the total project cost to VND 651.447 billion. The land acquisition and site clearance cost was adjusted from VND 89.6 billion to VND 96.37 billion.

The Nam Dan sluice project has been completed and opened for more than a year, but compensation work has not been completed. Photo: Pham Bang

To serve the project, the Nam Dan District Compensation and Site Clearance Council has recovered agricultural land, cemetery land, and residential roads from Xuan Hoa commune and Nam Dan town... to clear the site and hand it over to the construction unit.

As of June 31, 2016, the Project Management Board has disbursed 18 compensation plans approved by the People's Committee of Nam Dan District. Of these, 16 plans directly compensate people, 1 plan to build resettlement infrastructure and 1 plan to build a new town cemetery. All of these plans have an approved value of more than 89.5 billion VND. The Project Management Board has disbursed more than 88.99 billion VND.

Although the project was completed and opened in May 2018, the people of Hamlet 1, Xuan Hoa Commune, Nam Dan District have not yet received compensation. Mr. Nguyen Truong Thanh - Secretary of the Party Cell of Hamlet 1 said that in Xuan Hoa Commune alone, the land permanently recovered for construction is mainly the land of Hamlet 1, with about 7 hectares, including construction items and citizens' assets such as: concrete road system, asphalt road, internal bridge and culvert system, and Hamlet 1 cemetery.

“The people of Hamlet 1 agreed to hand over the land so that the project could be implemented on schedule. Nine years have passed, and the project has now been completed, but the people of Hamlet 1 have not yet received compensation from the Compensation Council for Land Acquisition and Site Clearance.”

Mr. Nguyen Truong Thanh - Secretary of Party Cell, Hamlet 1, Xuan Hoa Commune

Specifically, according to Mr. Thanh, the works in Hamlet 1 that are affected and must be compensated are 3 residential roads, 1 reinforced concrete bridge over the canal, 64 irrigation culverts, and a cemetery. The most pressing issue is that the cemetery in the hamlet is currently overloaded, but the State has not yet compensated Hamlet 1 for a new cemetery as committed before the repossession.

“Whenever someone dies, the family has to work very hard to find a burial site. Because the old cemetery has been partially reclaimed, there is very little space left, there is no more space for burial. In desperation, people have to bury the body in places where other families have just organized exhumations,” said Mr. Thanh.

For a long time, people in Hamlet 1, Xuan Hoa Commune have not known where to bury their deceased relatives because there has been no investment in building a new cemetery, while the old cemetery has run out of land. Photo: Pham Bang

It is known that on June 9, 2016, the Nam Dan District Compensation and Site Clearance Council submitted a request for additional capital to carry out site clearance work of 13 billion VND to the investor, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, and the Project Management Board. On March 25, 2017, the Nam Dan District People's Committee continued to submit a request for funding to carry out site clearance compensation work with the amount reduced to more than 6.77 billion VND.

Based on this report, on November 20, 2017, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development approved the adjustment of the investment project to build the Nam Dan Sluice Upgrading and Expansion Project, with the cost of compensation and site clearance adjusted to increase by more than 6.77 billion VND, with the capital allocated from the provincial budget.

People do not accept the merger

According to Mr. Ho Manh Hung - Chairman of the People's Committee of Xuan Hoa Commune, Nam Dan District, the total amount of money not yet compensated for the people is more than 6.7 billion VND. Of which, compensation for land acquisition, returning a cemetery to the people of 3,000m2, building fences is about 6 billion VND; asphalt roads, sewers, land compensation... is more than 700 million VND.

“For a long time, because there was no new cemetery planned, people just secretly buried among the graves, and now there is basically no land left. Besides, there are two households, Mr. Nguyen Canh Hung and Mr. Nguyen Van Be, who have not yet completed compensation. Because the road has not been invested in, it is muddy in the rainy season and dusty in the dry season,” Mr. Hung said.

Mr. Nguyen Truong Thanh - Secretary of Party Cell 1 of Hamlet said that he has sent many petitions to all levels but so far they have not been resolved. Photo: Pham Bang

Not only are the legitimate rights of the people affected, but the slow compensation has also led to many consequences. Mr. Ho Manh Hung - Chairman of the People's Committee of Xuan Hoa commune added that, according to the plan, hamlets 1 and 2, Xuan Hoa commune will merge into one hamlet, but the people of hamlet 1 are protesting the project for not yet compensating, so the people did not attend the meetings. The people requested that the compensation issue be resolved before agreeing to the merger. The commune sympathizes with the difficulties and frustrations of the people and hopes that the superiors will soon compensate to reassure the people in order to create consensus.

Mr. Nguyen Truong Thanh - Secretary of the Party Cell of Hamlet 1 also shared that there were people who spread leaflets in front of his house, accusing him of embezzling compensation money from the people. "I accept being disciplined and only wish that the State will soon pay compensation to the people before the merger. This is not only the legitimate wish of the people but also my own honor," Mr. Thanh said.

The residential road has not been compensated to its original state for the people. Photo: Pham Bang

It is known that for many years, people have reported this issue to the commune, even sending a petition directly to the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee. In addition, through meetings with voters and meetings of People's Councils at all levels, people also have many opinions.

In September 2018, Mr. Dinh Xuan Que - Chairman of Nam Dan District People's Committee signed a document to the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee stating that the compensation work for the Nam Dan culvert construction project has been completed, the project has basically completed construction and put into operation. People have handed over land and dismantled assets to construct the project, but to date, compensation has not been paid.

“The District People’s Committee has sent many documents requesting the Project Management Board to allocate funds to pay households. However, up to now, the province has not allocated capital for the project, so the Project Management Board does not have funds to pay for compensation for land acquisition and clearance. As soon as funds are available, the Compensation and Clearance Council will organize payments to households according to regulations,” the document stated.

It can be affirmed that land acquisition without compensation to the people is not in accordance with regulations. Therefore, authorities at all levels, together with the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Project Management Board, need to have solutions to promptly pay compensation to the people, in order to ensure legitimate rights and avoid future consequences.