Implementing the 'dual' goal in new rural construction

The difficulties

Dien Lam commune is the locality chosen by Dien Chau district as one of two communes in the district to carry out the construction of advanced NTM in 2021. Therefore, at the beginning of this year, the Party Committee, government and people of Dien Lam commune pay special attention to the criteria of advanced NTM, with the goal of reaching the finish line on schedule.

Mr. Ta Thanh Hao - Chairman of Dien Lam Commune People's Committee said that through reviewing the advanced NTM criteria, it shows that most of theAdvanced NTM criteriacompleted; now there are only a few criteria that need investment: Traffic, cultural institutions of villages and hamlets, and building production models.
Specifically, although the main traffic system of the commune has been asphalted and concreted, about 5 km from hamlet 8 to hamlet 11 is degraded and needs to be reinvested. In addition, it is necessary to expand the corridor on some roads according to the new rural planning. After the hamlet merger, from 25 hamlets to 11 hamlets, the commune has built 5 new cultural houses to meet the requirements for 5 hamlets: 1, 4, 7, 10 and 11; the remaining 6 hamlets do not have a standard cultural house.

A corner of the new rural area of ​​Dien Lam commune (Dien Chau). Photo: Xuan Hoang

“To build a standard communal cultural house, the budget is about 2 billion VND, so the commune does not have the budget to invest at once” - Mr. Ta Thanh Hao shared. In fact, an advanced NTM commune must have products that meet OCOP stars, so the biggest difficulty for Dien Lam is not yet determining the production model. Mr. Hao said that there are few typical products in the commune, so up to now, the locality has not determined what products to implement.

According to Mr. Le The Hieu - Head of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Dien Chau district, in 2021, the District People's Committee selected 2 communes to reach the advanced NTM target, including Dien Lam and Dien Ky. These are 2 localities with many advantages in socio-economic development, after reaching the NTM target.

To specifically evaluate each advanced NTM criterion in these communes, at the end of March 2021, the district will conduct an audit, through which localities will focus on implementing the criteria that have not been met. In order for the two communes to reach the advanced NTM target this year, the People's Committee of Dien Chau district will prioritize capital sources from programs, projects, and investments in an effective manner.
Yen Thanh DistrictThis year, 2 communes were selected to achieve the advanced NTM standards, including Tan Thanh and Long Thanh communes. Although these are 2 localities that are not in the top of the NTM finishing line, they have their own advantages, so the construction of advanced NTM has many advantages.

Mr. Pham Van Chinh - Chairman of Tan Thanh Commune People's Committee said that right after reaching the NTM target in 2016, the locality had a sense of building an advanced NTM. Therefore, by the beginning of 2021, Tan Thanh has basically completed 15/15 advanced criteria.

However, there are still some criteria that need attention, such as the primary school facilities, the need to build more functional areas and a row of classrooms. In particular, the superiors need to pay attention to investing in upgrading Provincial Road 538E, the section passing through the commune, which has been degraded for many years. Otherwise, people will not be satisfied with the results of the commune achieving the advanced NTM standards. In addition, the health criteria have not really met the standards, because the rate of people participating in insurance is currently only 88%, while the standard must be 90% or higher.

Model of vegetable and fruit production in greenhouses in Tan Thanh commune (Yen Thanh). Photo: Xuan Hoang

"The Steering Committee for New Rural Construction in the commune coordinates with the Fatherland Front and mass organizations to regularly visit people's homes to mobilize and propagate so that people understand the importance and benefits of participating in health insurance, and work with the locality to build an advanced new rural commune. Even for poor households, the hamlet chief regularly visits and learns to encourage people to participate in health insurance. Hopefully this year, the commune will achieve this criterion," said Mr. Pham Van Chinh.

Clearly define goals to promptly implement

Mr. Nguyen Van Hang - Deputy Chief of the Provincial Office of New Rural Areas said: Unlike previous years, this year Nghe An implements two "dual" goals in parallel: Building a new rural commune and a commune that meets advanced new rural standards. Because the Resolution of the Provincial People's Council assigns that in 2021, 20 communes will reach the new rural target and 20 communes will reach the advanced new rural target.

Therefore, right from the beginning of the year, the Provincial New Rural Office has directed localities to register communes meeting the New Rural and Advanced New Rural standards this year. Immediately after registering with the district and province, localities immediately started to review each criterion in detail, to find solutions for implementation as soon as possible.

“Due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, the implementation of the National Target Program on New Rural Development in localities this year will continue to face certain difficulties. Therefore, localities need to clearly define their goals for implementation from the beginning of the year. During the implementation process, it is necessary to seek the support of the people and resources from higher levels.”

Mr. Nguyen Van Hang emphasized.

For district-level units, currently in the province, there are 2 localities on the way to completing the new rural district: Hoang Mai town and Nghi Loc district. Accordingly, in 2020, the province completed the review in Nghi Loc district. According to the plan, the province will review in Hoang Mai town and the Central Steering Committee for New Rural Areas will review in Nghi Loc district.

Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Hoang Nghia Hieu inspected the progress of new rural construction in Nghi Loc (Photo: The delegation visited the agricultural production model in greenhouses in Khanh Hop commune). Photo: Xuan Hoang

With the model NTM commune, in addition to the 3 communes the province has previously selected: Quynh Doi (Quynh Luu), Son Thanh (Yen Thanh), Kim Lien (Nam Dan), this year there is also Nam Nghia commune (Nam Dan). With the province's new support policy, along with the support of all classes of people, the active participation of all levels and sectors, it is hoped that in 2021 Nghe An will complete the set plan goals.

According to Resolution 24/2020/NQ-HDND of the province on a number of support policies in building new rural areas in Nghe An, period 2021 - 2025: Communes in 10 mountainous districts, the support level is 2,800 tons of PCB40 cement/commune. For communes in the remaining districts, the support level is 2,000 tons of cement/commune. For villages, hamlets, and villages in mountainous area III and villages, hamlets, and villages in 27 border communes, registering and committing to participate in building villages, hamlets, and villages that meet new rural standards, the support level is 150 tons of cement/village, hamlet, and village.
Communes that meet the new rural standards will be rewarded 500 million VND/commune; communes that meet the advanced new rural standards will be rewarded 600 million VND/commune; communes that meet the model new rural standards will be rewarded 700 million VND/commune to build welfare works, with the commune as the investor.

Xuan Hoang