GPMB Project to upgrade and expand National Highway 1A: Don't make a difference

(Baonghean) - More than 4 thousand households along the entire National Highway 1A from Hoang Mai Town to Vinh City, for the national interest, have handed over the land, creating conditions for contractors to speed up the construction progress of the National Highway 1A upgrading and expansion project - a national key project, but as of July 20, 2014, there are still 22 households in Hamlet 11, Quynh Giang Commune re-encroaching and have not yet handed over the land to the construction unit...

• Lesson 1: Need to remove bottlenecks and speed up progress

Duc Tai Restaurant is one of 22 households in Hamlet 11, Quynh Giang Commune (Quynh Luu) that have not yet handed over the site to the construction unit.

The process of site clearance for the project to expand and upgrade National Highway 1A in Nghe An province had some problems and shortcomings, but with the participation of the entire political system with the method of both implementing construction and mobilizing and propagating to each household on the route, households affected in the construction process thoroughly understood and put national interests first, creating favorable conditions for contractors to carry out the construction. During that period, Quynh Giang commune, Quynh Luu district had 172 households granted red books within the PMU1 traffic safety corridor, requesting compensation within a range of 13.5m. After being explained and mobilized by organizations, they understood and actively coordinated with the authorities to hand over the site. By April 7, 2014, the People's Committee of Quynh Giang commune said that 204 affected households in the commune had agreed to hand over 100% of the site.

However, during the construction process, by May 30, 2014, Quynh Giang commune had 22 households re-encroaching and refusing to hand over the land. Authorities and organizations at all levels continued to propagate and mobilize about the State's compensation and land clearance policies in many forms, but the households were still stubborn and refused to hand over and insisted that the State must compensate for the land within a radius of 13.5m before construction could begin. Some households agreed but were prevented by other households.

We learned that the reason for this situation was that some households were incited and incited to make demands that were not in line with the State's policies on compensation, support, and resettlement of land acquisition and clearance, thereby organizing to prevent the contractor from carrying out the construction. Among those propagandists, instigators, and opponents was Mr. Nguyen Trong Thuan (from Quynh Giang, Quynh Luu, with permanent residence in Dong Da district, Hanoi) who wrote a petition denouncing and distorting the truth about the process of directing the site clearance of National Highway 1A. Nguyen Trong Thuan's provocative arguments such as: "Document No. 147/TB-UBND-GT dated April 3, 2014 of the People's Committee of Nghe An province on the land acquisition and clearance work of the Project to upgrade and expand National Highway 1A through Nghe An province has content that is completely contrary to the law, especially the land acquisition and clearance through Quynh Van and Quynh Giang communes", "leaving anger in the hearts of the people", "signs of poor and weak morality and talent"... were spread by some subjects, inciting households in Quynh Giang "the land is yours, you keep it" to prevent construction units.

In whose name, for what purpose? Why did Mr. Thuan, who is residing in Hanoi, write a petition demanding “equality before the law” for households in Quynh Giang (Quynh Luu)? In the petition, he showed that he was knowledgeable about the law, but there were arrogant and personally insulting words that we do not dare to mention?!

Along with that, on April 21, 2014, Priest Nguyen Van Dinh, the administrator of Thuan Nghia Diocese, a person who has the duty to take care of religious affairs and shepherd the souls of his flock, but he was eager to write a petition and a letter to the People's Committee of Quynh Luu District, with the content: "Recently, many households in Cau Giat Town and communes in Quynh Luu District presented to me about "their legal land being encroached" to expand National Highway 1A but have not been compensated. Expanding National Highway 1A is the desire of all people because it creates favorable conditions for travel, reduces accidents and traffic jams... But when clearing land related to the legal land of the people (with red books and legal origins), the government needs to compensate the people reasonably, by doing so: the government respects itself (because the papers are issued by the government); that is justice, creating trust and stability among the people. Because of the desire for stability in the area and for the interests of legitimate rights and interests of the people, I write this petition to respectfully submit to the district People's Committee for consideration and protection of the people's legitimate rights and interests".

On May 14, 2014, the People's Committee of Quynh Luu district issued Official Letter No. 731/UBND.TNMT in response to Priest Nguyen Van Dinh, in which he clearly explained that cases with land areas within the 13.5m road corridor that had been cleared during the implementation of the previous PMU1 Project should not be compensated, and cases with affected land areas outside the 13.5m road corridor should be based on the origin of land use to consider compensation and support according to regulations, and requested the priest to propagate and mobilize people to hand over the site to the construction unit to ensure progress according to the Government's policy.

After receiving Official Letter No. 731 of the People's Committee of Quynh Luu District, Priest Nguyen Van Dinh "discussed with households with disputed land" and said: "The government's solution is not satisfactory, the people do not agree because their legitimate rights have not been resolved" and once again he raised his voice "for the practical interests of the people, for the prestige of the State government" to judge that "Nghe An Provincial People's Committee, Quynh Luu District People's Committee, especially the Land Clearance Board for the expansion of National Highway 1A through Nghe An Province, need to know that the previous Government Regulation on traffic safety corridors is not a decision to reclaim land. Because even though it is a traffic safety corridor, that land still belongs to the people's land use rights, so when the State needs to reclaim it, it must issue a decision to reclaim and compensate appropriately according to the provisions of law at the time of reclamation".

This is a subjective opinion of Father Dinh and lacks legal basis, because a traffic safety corridor cannot belong to any individual.

Petition of Priest Nguyen Van Dinh sent to People's Committee of Quynh Luu district.

And let me clarify for Mr. Thuan and Father Dinh, the regulation on traffic safety corridors was issued in 1982, in Decision No. 6-CT dated January 3, 1990 of the Council of Ministers on the implementation of Decree 203-HDBT dated December 21, 1982 on Road Protection Regulations for national highways, which clearly states: “1. According to the Road Regulations issued together with Decree No. 203-HDBT dated December 21, 1982 of the Council of Ministers, the scope of roads and road protection corridors is airspace, belonging to the route for protection, ensuring traffic safety and reserve when expanding. Land in the road protection corridor can only be used to grow food, crops and trees according to the instructions of the Ministry of Transport; 2. On national highways, especially National Highway 1, from the date of issuance of the Road Protection Regulations, all works done in the route Any construction project that is granted land by the authorities at all levels, wards, communes, districts, or provinces or cities or that is arbitrarily built is a violation of the law. Within 6 months from the date of signing this Decision, the violating agencies and individuals must move the above-mentioned constructions out of the airspace corridor (from the foot of the embankment or the top of the dug road to each side 20 meters). The State shall exempt from fines and shall not provide compensation".

In 1993, when implementing the Project to upgrade and expand National Highway 1A, with PMU1 Management Board of the Ministry of Transport as the investor, along the entire route, this unit set the traffic safety corridor markers from the foot of the road to each side 7m, equivalent to 13.5m from the center of the road to each side. In Official Dispatch No. 1268/PMU1-QLDA2 of Project Management Board 1 - Ministry of Transport dated July 28, 2010 sent to the Steering Committee for compensation, support and resettlement of the projects to upgrade and expand National Highway 1A through Nghe An province, it was confirmed: "After reviewing and checking the archived documents at Project Management Board 1 on the land acquisition work of National Highway 1A of Project WB1 from km 212+000 - km 463+000 (Cau Gie - Vinh City) in Nghe An province managed by Project Management Board 1, implemented in the years 1993 - 1998, Project Management Board 1 would like to give the following comments: 1. Area of ​​traffic works under Project WB1: Procedures for permanent land recovery have been completed to the foot of the work; 2. Area from the foot of the work to the land acquisition pile of Project WB1: Sections The distance from the outer edge of the ditch along the road to each side is 3m, the route sections passing through rural areas are calculated from the foot of the embankment and the top of the dug road to each side is 7m, the sections with adjacent railways only have GPMB stakes placed on one side. Within this scope, the project has compensated for all works, structures on the land and trees and crops.

Since the Road Protection Regulations for National Highways came into effect, almost no one on the entire National Highway 1A has built permanent houses within the 13.5m area! Later, some households bought and sold or transferred land use rights, and when re-issuing the certificates, the government also deducted the area belonging to the traffic safety corridor. This is clearly shown in the cover sheets of households in Quynh Giang whose land area adjacent to National Highway 1A has been re-issued since 1993.

Therefore, if for the reason that Father Dinh perceives, "The expansion of National Highway 1A is the desire of all people because it creates favorable conditions for travel, reduces traffic accidents..." or "The expansion of the road is important, the people fully support it because of the responsibility of citizens for the development of society", then the priest should "give sermons about the sacrifice of Jesus, the parables of the Pharisees..., or stories about accepting suffering for oneself but willing to give glory to others that God left in the gospels" and "convey the miracle and joy of faith and the deep love between God and His creation", to work with the authorities at all levels to mobilize the households that are still preventing the construction units from constructing the project to upgrade and expand National Highway 1A through Quynh Giang commune; Let's "for the benefit of the nation" and to "reduce traffic accidents", facilitate travel and business, hand over the land, create conditions to speed up the construction progress of key national projects. Because through contact with us, the households who are parishioners in hamlet 11, Quynh Giang commune, Quynh Luu district said that "everything is now up to the Father to decide" and they are also waiting for the Father's opinion!

For households in Quynh Giang who are still wondering and hesitant about handing over the land, they should also look at the example of 4,462 households along the entire National Highway 1A from Hoang Mai Town to Vinh City, who, for the national interest, handed over the land, creating conditions for contractors to speed up the construction progress. Up to now, in the localities of Hoang Mai Town, Dien Chau, Nghi Loc, Vinh City, the shape of a modern and spacious national key road is becoming more and more evident. Could it be that, in the end, on the entire route, only a few households in Hamlet 11, Quynh Giang Commune are stubbornly sticking around to create an unusual difference on the spacious and airy road?!

Obstructing and delaying the progress of site handover is not only an act that goes against the policies of the Party and the State, but also violates the law when some extremists have committed acts of "obstructing people on duty", "disturbing public order", "establishing illegal associations"... These acts will certainly be handled by the authorities according to the law. Therefore, 22 households in Hamlet 11, Quynh Giang Commune (Quynh Luu) also need to "look at others and think about ourselves" to understand and comply with the State's policies, because no one has the right to obstruct or infringe upon the interests of the nation...

Reporter team