Need to develop criteria for assessing environmental impacts of hydropower projects

(Baonghean.vn) - On the afternoon of October 8, the provincial National Assembly delegation continued to work with departments and branches to listen to related contents to prepare for the program of the 6th session of the 13th National Assembly.

Comrade Pham Van Tan - Head of the Provincial National Assembly Delegation chaired the meeting.

In the working program, the issues that departments and branches are interested in recommending and proposing are the planning of hydropower projects, especially medium and small hydropower projects; the work of relocating people to resettlement areas; problems in handing over and returning the rural power grid, etc.

Comrade Pham Van Tan chaired the meeting.

The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development proposed that the National Assembly recommend that the Government carefully study the positive and negative aspects of planning hydropower projects to minimize the consequences caused by natural disasters, ensure environmental issues, people's livelihoods and protect upstream forests. In the process of planning and establishing hydropower projects, it is necessary to do a good job of consulting the community, especially the opinions of people in the affected areas.

Regarding this issue, the Department of Construction recommends that a set of criteria be developed to evaluate the effectiveness of hydropower projects and assess their environmental impacts strictly. The representative of the Hydropower Project Management Board 2 also said that the planning diagram of hydropower projects is quite strictly controlled by the Government, but currently there is laxity in the management of small and medium hydropower planning in localities. Therefore, the National Assembly needs to have opinions requesting the Government to review and control the system of small hydropower projects and irrigation dams in localities to make timely adjustments, avoiding widespread planning that affects the environment and people's lives as in the recent past.

Regarding resettlement work, the Department of Industry and Trade recommends that investors need to conduct careful surveys and develop specific plans to invest in building infrastructure for resettlement areas in a synchronous manner, in accordance with the customs and practices of the people in the resettlement areas, to avoid the situation of bringing people in before the work is completed. At the same time, it is recommended to remove from the planning hydropower projects that are economically inefficient and affect the environment.

Faced with difficulties in site clearance for power projects, the current widespread situation of electricity theft and violations of the grid safety corridor (the whole province has more than 380 architectural works and trees violating the grid safety corridor due to illegal land allocation), the Electricity sector recommends that relevant sectors support in removing difficulties in propaganda and site clearance for the grid safety corridor, avoiding unfortunate losses; propose that the National Assembly review Circular 06 on handover and return of rural power grids to remove obstacles in handover and return of rural power grids.

Khanh Ly