People set up poles to block the road to stop the rock trucks because they cause pollution.
(Baonghean) - Frustrated by the dust pollution and road deterioration, local people set up poles to prevent trucks carrying rocks from passing, and expressed their desire for the road to be repaired. However, the repair project has not yet been implemented due to limited local budget.
Set up a pole to block the road and block the stone truck
From 2017 to now, people in hamlets 4 and 5, Tru Son commune, Do Luong district have twice built barricades to prevent cars carrying rocks from passing through the inter-commune road, causing traffic insecurity and disorder in the locality.
The cause of the incident was reported by the people of the two hamlets above: Over the past two years, the large volume of vehicles transported by four mining companies operating three quarries in the area has caused the inter-commune road to seriously deteriorate, making travel difficult; causing dust, noise, and polluting the living environment of the people. Setting up roadblocks is a measure to put pressure on relevant levels and sectors to repair this road...
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| One of three quarries operating in Tru Son commune (Do Luong). |
The basis for the Chairman of the People's Committee of Tru Son commune to promise the people is: The project to build 1.7km of the above road has been approved by all levels with an estimated budget of 4.4 billion VND. 4 mining enterprises have committed to the commune to provide the material of road stone when implementing the project, according to the estimated budget of about 800 million VND. In the first quarter of 2018, the land auction will be approved and through the land auction, Tru Son commune will have counterpart funds (estimated at 1.6 billion VND) to repair the road.
Mr. Nguyen Thuy Chinh said: By the end of the first quarter of 2018, the locality still could not implement land auctions. Vehicles of 3 mining companies still continuously operated on the road from 3am to 8pm every day, while the measures of leveling and watering proved ineffective. Believing that the Commune People's Committee had broken its promise, on April 6, 2018, people in 2 hamlets continued to erect poles to block the traffic of cars carrying rocks. The local government mobilized people to dismantle them; however, on the evening of April 11, people continued to erect poles to block the road.
In order to find a long-term solution, on the afternoon of April 12, the People's Committee of Tru Son commune continued to organize the second dialogue with the people of the two hamlets with the participation of leaders of Do Luong district and functional departments.
At this conference, comrade Ngoc Kim Nam - Secretary of the District Party Committee, Chairman of the People's Committee of Do Luong district affirmed: By April 30, 2018, Do Luong district will complete the documents and by May 30, 2018 will start construction and repair of the road. Regarding the allocation of capital, the District People's Committee directed the sectors to follow the regulations as well as coordinate with 4 companies to implement. However, people need to be clearly aware that the setting up of road barriers by households in 2 hamlets is against the law.
Local recommendations
The affirmation of the District Party Secretary and Chairman of the District People's Committee received high approval from the people. Immediately after the dialogue conference, the people of the two hamlets complied and voluntarily removed the barriers.
Mr. Nguyen Thuy Chinh - Chairman of Tru Son Commune People's Committee said: "To build and repair the commune road, it is necessary to spend about 1.6 billion VND. This capital will be available after the land auction. In fact, the commune's operating budget is very difficult, there are still many projects that have to rely on this land auction source. Meanwhile, most of the environmental fees paid by stone mining companies have not been used to build roads... Because currently we have not properly implemented the Mineral Law No. 60/2010/QH12 dated November 17, 2010 and Decree No. 158/2016/ND-CP dated November 29, 2016 of the Government detailing a number of articles of the Mineral Law".
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| The barricade was erected by Tru Son commune residents to prevent trucks carrying rocks. |
According to Mr. Chinh, according to the law and decree, Tru Son commune should have received separate support. However, currently, the local environmental protection fee is distributed to all communes and towns in the district - localities without quarries, not directly affected. According to the budget table, the amount of environmental fee paid by the company to the commune (only 1/3 of the company paid) is: 20 million VND in 2015, 40 million VND in 2016, 62 million VND in 2017... This amount is only enough for the commune to spend on environmental sanitation activities, watering to avoid dust...
A leader of Do Luong district proposed: The division of environmental protection fees in Nghe An is currently being implemented according to Resolution No. 31/2016/NQ-HDND dated December 16, 2016, on promulgating regulations on decentralization of revenue sources, expenditure tasks and percentages of revenue division among budget levels of Nghe An province in 2017, stable until 2020. In Article 5 of Resolution No. 31 on percentages of revenue division among levels with environmental fees, the provincial budget collects 50%, the district budget collects 40% and the commune budget collects 10%... It is known that all revenues serve the common cause, but there should also be regulations that give more priority to localities directly affected by mineral activities".
