The Law on Irrigation must take into account national defense and security.

(Baonghean.vn) - During the National Assembly discussion on the draft Law on Irrigation today (November 14), National Assembly representative Nguyen Sy Hoi from Nghe An province proposed that large-scale irrigation projects, those of national defense and security importance, and projects in coastal areas, border regions, and islands must have dual-use capabilities, closely combining agricultural production with the construction of defense zones.

The National Assembly convenes in the assembly hall.

Speaking in the National Assembly on the draft Law on Irrigation, delegate Nguyen Sy Hoi (from Nghe An province) also raised concerns about combining irrigation work with the construction of provincial and city defense zones.

Accordingly, the draft law prioritizes investment in large-scale projects in particularly disadvantaged areas, remote areas, ethnic minority regions, and border and island areas. Thus, the drafting agency has paid attention to border regions to improve the lives of the people and contribute to building a national defense posture. However, Mr. Hoi believes that framing the issue in this way is "correct but insufficient" and requires a specific provision with sanctions for implementation.

Delegate Nguyen Sy Hoi delivered a speech in the assembly hall.

Citing a report from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the delegate stated that from now until 2030, the investment need for irrigation projects is approximately 25,000. The Major General assessed that most of these are small-scale projects, focusing on on-farm irrigation, but there will also be large-scale, key projects in defense and security regions.

"Even assuming only four to five per thousand, there would still be hundreds of projects, so we must consider the dual-use nature of these projects," the Deputy Commander of Military Region 4 calculated.

The issue is that the planning strategy and investment plan for large-scale projects, especially those in key defense and security areas, need a legal framework and specific regulations to ensure the dual function of each project, serving both irrigation and civilian needs, while simultaneously building defense zones.

"Our ancestors were aware of this very early on. For example, the Vinh Te Canal in the Mekong Delta, built in the early 19th century, not only served agriculture but also held significant importance for national defense, such as protecting the border belt. Specifically, it proved very valuable in terms of tactical operations for the troops during the war to defend the southwestern border," Mr. Hoi remarked.

However, according to Mr. Hoi, although Vietnam currently has many legal documents regulating economic activities related to national defense at the macro level, such as ports, airports, economic zones, and industrial parks, some areas of the economy related to people's livelihoods, agriculture, forestry, and irrigation in border and coastal regions have not received adequate attention.

With the perspective of developing the economy alongside building national defense capabilities, and the task of protecting the Fatherland, specifically building defense zones, which must be prepared during peacetime, the representative from Nghe An province suggested that the law should include an additional provision stating that the design, drafted by the managing agency, must encompass large-scale, key defense and security projects, as well as projects in coastal areas, border regions, and islands, that have dual-use capabilities, closely integrating agricultural production with the construction of defense zones.

"Currently, the country is facing certain difficulties, but in the future, by 2030, our descendants will surely have to think about bigger things. For example, irrigation projects along the coast to ensure national security and dual-use defense would be very good. Regarding the structure, I suggest designing this before Article 7 on international cooperation in irrigation," suggested delegate Nguyen Sy Hoi.

Responding to the opinions of the delegates, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Xuan Cuong agreed that, given our over 2,000 islands, 11 island districts, and 2,600 km of coastline, "this area must be addressed thoroughly." In addition, we have over 2,000 large lakes with a capacity of 10,000,000 m³.³ Furthermore, there are reservoirs with volumes of tens of billions of cubic meters where security and defense are not addressed in this law, which will inevitably lead to incidents in the future, especially regarding current water security.

Therefore, the head of the agricultural sector stated that he fully agrees with Representative Nguyen Sy Hoi that the draft law needs to be more thorough and specific to prevent potential risks and unexpected problems in the future.

The resolution on budget allocation was voted on and adopted.

Earlier that morning, with over 82.15% of the delegates voting in favor, the National Assembly passed a Resolution on the allocation of the central government budget for 2017.

Accordingly, the total revenue of the central budget is 729,730 billion VND. The total revenue of the local budget is 482,450 billion VND. The total expenditure of the central budget is 902,030 billion VND, of which 254,630 billion VND is allocated to supplement the budget balance and provide targeted supplementary funding for local budgets.

Duong Gim