The People's Committee of Do Luong District responds to the issue raised in the press.

(Baonghean) - The Nghe An Newspaper, in its March 31, 2014 issue, published an article titled: "Resettled fishermen in Dang Son commune, Do Luong district: 'Settling down but not yet establishing a livelihood'." Following an investigation and verification, on April 26, the People's Committee of Do Luong district sent Official Letter No. 55/BC-UBND to the Nghe An Newspaper with the following content:

The project: "Construction of a resettlement area for fishing households on the Lam River to move them out of the flood-prone area of ​​Dang Son commune, Do Luong district, Nghe An province" was approved for investment by the People's Committee of Nghe An province in Decision No. 4905/QD-UBND.NN dated November 11, 2011, and the total investment was adjusted in Decision No. 677/QD-UBND.NN dated March 12, 2012. The People's Committee of Do Luong district issued Decision No. 693/QD-UBND dated May 8, 2012, approving the adjustment of the total investment estimate for the project to VND 7,404,000,000.

The project's objective is to build a concentrated resettlement area in Cay Sang, Hamlet 2, Dang Son Commune, for 68 fishing households from Hamlets 6 and 7, Dang Son Commune, to relocate them from flood-prone areas. Previously, these fishing households had no land or housing, their lives were precarious on the Lam River, relying on fishing, sand and gravel extraction, loading and unloading, and transportation for hire. The project was implemented at the end of 2011, and by the end of 2013, the infrastructure components were basically completed. By the end of 2013, 44 households had built houses and moved in. It is expected that 24 households will have completed construction and moved in by 2014. The total area of ​​the resettlement site is 1,750 m2 (including land for infrastructure construction and housing for 68 households), which is 5% of public land managed by Dang Son Commune and repurposed for resettlement construction. If we subtract the area for infrastructure construction, the average residential land area per household is 150-200 m2. This area is just enough for households to build houses and auxiliary structures.

For Dang Son commune in Do Luong district, which has a very small natural area of ​​only 429.41 hectares, agricultural land was allocated to households in 1993 according to Decree 64/ND-CP. Therefore, when establishing the resettlement project for the fishing households, there was absolutely no agricultural land left to distribute to them. When the project was established, the district and commune clearly stated the main objective: to build a resettlement area for the households to have stable housing. Since there was no agricultural land, the households would temporarily continue to live using their previous occupations. Currently, the households have built houses and moved in, and have "settled down," as reported by Nghe An Newspaper...

Although they have been resettled in a new village on the shore, the households in hamlets 6 and 7 of Dang Son commune still live normally, engaging in their previous occupations such as fishing, transportation, loading and unloading, and sand and gravel mining. Some of their children have switched to working as factory workers, laborers, or working abroad. In the long term, creating stable employment for these households is essential. The People's Committee of Do Luong district has worked with the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Sub-Department of Rural Development on the issue of vocational training for laborers from the resettlement area. The People's Committee has assigned the Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs to lead the coordination with the Agricultural Extension Station and the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to work with the People's Committee of Dang Son commune and the households in the resettlement area to survey and propose suitable vocational training programs that align with the socio-economic development plan and the households' need for career change.

After identifying the necessary training programs, the People's Committee of Do Luong District will direct relevant departments and agencies, as well as the People's Committee of Dang Son Commune, to implement appropriate solutions to stabilize and improve the material and spiritual lives of the households in the resettlement area. Regarding administrative management, currently, due to the insufficient number of households required to establish a new hamlet, the resettled households are still under the administrative management of Hamlet 6 and Hamlet 7 as before. The People's Committee of the commune has assigned a deputy hamlet officer to the resettlement area for convenient management. The People's Committee of the commune is actively directing and urging more households to build houses in the resettlement area and is developing a plan to transfer the administrative management of some households to meet the conditions and promptly submit a proposal to the competent authority to establish a new hamlet, ensuring long-term stability for the resettled fishing community.

The above is the opinion of the People's Committee of Do Luong District regarding the content of Nghe An Newspaper, issue dated March 31, 2014, "Resettled fishermen in Dang Son commune, Do Luong district: 'Settling down but not yet having a stable livelihood'". The People's Committee of Do Luong District responds to Nghe An Newspaper.

People's Committee of Do Luong District