Efforts to meet each criterion in Tuong Duong

(Baonghean) - As one of the particularly difficult mountainous districts, Tuong Duong district is determined to have two communes (Tam Thai and Thach Giam) achieve the new rural development (NTM) goals in 2015. With this goal in mind, the Party committees, government, and people are actively working together to complete the targets.

Visiting Tam Thai commune (Tuong Duong district), one can truly appreciate the practical value of the collective efforts of the highland people in building transportation infrastructure. According to the plan, 12,685 meters of main roads connecting villages needed to be paved; to date, the local government and people have completed over 13,045 meters, exceeding the target by 103%. Previously, transportation in Tam Thai commune was frequently affected by landslides and deteriorated. Just four years after implementing the New Rural Development program, many roads in the commune have been upgraded to be spacious, clean, and beautiful.

Mr. Vi Van Kieu, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Tam Thai commune, shared: "This is truly something that I and many other people had not imagined when we first started building the New Rural Area. To ensure convenient transportation for people in the Khe Bo hydroelectric reservoir area, based on the practical implementation, the commune has flexibly mobilized additional resources from the people to renovate some roads. Thanks to the people's consensus, in addition to the 1,064 tons of cement provided by the state, all other funds were contributed by the people."

New rural concrete road in Cam village, Tam Thai commune (Tuong Duong district).

The above results were achieved through the collective efforts of the entire political system, the guidance and attention of the district, and the involvement of the steering committee from the commune down to the village level. Initially, the work of disseminating information and "changing the mindset" of the people was not simple at all. Mr. Vi Van Kieu added: "When we first started clearing the land for the concrete road, to ensure convenient and safe travel, some sections with narrow curves and blind spots required the commune and villages to redesign and adjust. However, due to limited land and the reluctance of the people to compromise, they were unwilling to give in. But after being persuaded and especially seeing the practical benefits of the new road, the people understood and supported it. Once they believed, the people not only contributed labor and money to buy sand and gravel but also voluntarily donated land and trees to open the road. Within four years, despite difficult living conditions and low incomes, the people of Tam Thai commune contributed nearly 5 billion VND to build infrastructure projects."

Meanwhile, in Chan village, Tam Thai commune, is one of the leading villages in the New Rural Development movement and has achieved the best results. Nearly 4 km of internal village roads have been concreted, replacing the previously steep and muddy sections. Mr. Lo Viet Thuong – Head of the Chan Village Management Board – said: “The village has 113 households. When the government provided cement, the Party branch and the village committee planned a fundraising campaign, and the people agreed, with each household contributing nearly 10 million VND to build the road. Although the contribution was quite large, the people were very happy because they benefited from it, with more convenient transportation and a more beautiful village. Since the road was completed, the daily life and travel of the people have been very convenient, and the villagers have enthusiastically participated in all the commune's movements.” Information provided by the Thach Giam Commune People's Committee impressed us that the people in the villages within the commune have contributed over 11 billion VND to the New Rural Development program.

In addition to developing road infrastructure to help model communes achieve their goals, Tuong Duong district also focuses on integrating all resources to invest in upgrading the electricity system, schools, and health stations; supporting the construction of models and increasing people's income. With active support from projects and programs, many economic development models worth 20-50 million VND/year have emerged. As a result, the poverty rate has gradually decreased and the average per capita income has also increased. At the beginning of the term, Tam Thai commune had over 25% of households living in poverty, but by 2014, this had decreased to only 13.99%; Thach Giam commune now has only 11% of households living in poverty.

Seedling nursery model under the 30a program for building new rural areas in Cam village, Tam Thai commune.

Thanks to the collective efforts of the people and the effective leadership and management of the Party committee and government, Tam Thai commune has achieved 14 criteria from its initial 5; Thach Giam commune has increased from 6 to 15 criteria. During the implementation process, the communes selected criteria and implementation roadmaps that suited their resources, tackling easier tasks first and more difficult ones later. For example, criteria such as environmental sanitation or the percentage of people using clean, hygienic water. Due to the mountainous terrain of the communes, the amount of waste is small and there are no facilities for a centralized landfill. Therefore, the district directed the communes to encourage people to dig pits and bury waste on-site for disposal. To ensure access to clean drinking water, the district called for investment in clean water treatment projects using gravity-fed systems. As a result, over 90% of households in the pilot communes for the New Rural Development program in Tuong Duong district now have access to clean water.

To support the construction of new rural areas in communes, in 2014, Tuong Duong district mobilized nearly 500 billion VND, including over 300 billion VND from integrated funding and credit; 2.67 billion VND contributed by the people; and 12.386 billion VND directly supported by the state budget. Thanks to this investment, the entire district built nearly 40 km of new roads of various types; the total amount of cement provided by the Provincial People's Committee was 3,750 tons, used to build 25 km of type B roads, mobilizing 7,200 man-days of labor; and the amount of sand and gravel contributed by the people exceeded 5,200 m3. Besides maintaining many existing economic development models, last year, 47 new models were established in the district, including two models directly invested in by the New Rural Development program that have shown clear effectiveness and have been replicated: the model of growing pink bananas, producing clean vegetables, and seedling nursery in Tam Thai commune, and the model of fattening cattle in Thach Giam commune. Each model involves 15 households, with an average income of 10-15 million VND per household. To date, among the 17 communes planned for New Rural Development in Tuong Duong, two communes have achieved 14-15 criteria and are striving to complete the program by 2015, while eight communes have achieved 5-9 criteria.

Despite the achievements, the implementation of the national target program for building new rural areas in districts like Tuong Duong (classified as a 30a district) still faces many difficulties. Mr. Lo Vinh Tinh, Chairman of the People's Committee of Tam Thai commune, frankly stated: “Although Tam Thai aims to achieve the target in 2015, there are two criteria that are very difficult for the commune to fulfill immediately: the cultural infrastructure criterion and the poverty rate. Currently, the infrastructure and commune headquarters are still rudimentary, and the cultural facility (commune stadium) requires an investment of approximately 20 billion VND but funding for construction has yet to be found. In 2014, the commune Party Committee and mass organizations did not achieve the status of a clean and strong unit. Furthermore, the income criterion and the poverty rate are also serious concerns, as the commune still has 13.99% of households living in poverty, 47 temporary thatched houses, and bringing that percentage down to below 10% this year is no easy task…”

Similar to Tam Thai, although Thach Giam commune no longer has to worry too much about meeting the poverty criteria, developing economic models that generate income for the people remains a major concern. Currently, a cooperative has been established, but its operations are not yet truly effective. Furthermore, due to the large natural area of ​​Thach Giam commune, but with its steep, hilly terrain, the commune lacks community cultural facilities, a sports stadium, and the development of access roads to remote villages requires significant investment, while the contributions from the local people are limited.

Faced with these challenges, Tuong Duong district is actively working with communes to accelerate overall progress, while balancing resources and planning investments. It continues to mobilize local people and businesses to jointly complete the targets of building new rural areas, with the overarching goal of improving people's income and living conditions.

Nguyen Hai