Lessons learned from collecting soil and sand from the dam reservoir in Quynh Loc commune

(Baonghean) - Through the hotline, Nghe An Newspaper received information that in Quynh Loc commune (Hoang Mai town), there was a phenomenon of illegal exploitation of sand and soil. Verification showed that this was the collection of soil and sand belonging to the dredging project of the lake bed and dam for Quynh Loc commune, which was approved by Hoang Mai town. However, in this incident, there are also issues that need to be learned from.

The phenomenon of enterprises exploiting soil and sand in Quynh Loc commune was sent to Nghe An Newspaper by readers in the last days of 2016. The information stated: “The illegal sand exploitation under the guise of dredging projects of lakes and dams in Quynh Loc commune has been going on for nearly 2 years now, seriously affecting the storage of irrigation water for agricultural production in the commune. People hope that the local government will strengthen supervision, implement the project according to the objectives and design process, and not let the construction unit profit by dredging sand... Thereby upgrading and repairing lakes and dams, storing water sources for production”.

Sand suction equipment left by Hung Dung Construction and Trading Investment Joint Stock Company at Khe Nghe Lake. Photo: Nhat Lan

Speaking to reporters, Ms. Truong Thi Kien - Deputy Secretary of the Quynh Loc Commune Party Committee confirmed that in 2016, people in the commune had concerns about enterprises exploiting sand and soil in some lake and dam areas. However, this was the enterprise's collection of soil and sand during the process of dredging the lake beds of the dams, which had been approved by the town. "The people's reflection was related to the enterprise's dredging at Ba Hao Dam. This is the largest reservoir in Quynh Loc Commune, currently managed by the Bac Irrigation Company. After people's reflection, and because it was the harvest season, to ensure irrigation water, the enterprise temporarily stopped dredging work" - Ms. Truong Thi Kien said.

It is known that in May 2015, understanding the drought problem in Quynh Loc commune, Hung Dung Construction and Trading Investment Joint Stock Company submitted a request to the authorities of Hoang Mai town and Quynh Loc commune for permission to use its own capital to dredge the dam to increase water storage capacity. In return, the company requested to collect all the sand and soil products through dredging to make raw materials and carry out site clearance for socio-economic projects in the area.

Since the drought situation has been a major concern for many years, in addition, the dams in the area have been flooded with sand and soil from the hills, causing sedimentation and narrowing the water storage area, Quynh Loc commune agreed and submitted a document to the People's Committee of Hoang Mai town for consideration and the People's Committee of Hoang Mai town allowed the enterprise to survey, prepare design documents and develop a construction plan. After the functional departments assessed, on July 7, 2015, the People's Committee of Hoang Mai town issued Official Dispatch No. 568/UBND.KT on dredging soil and sand from the lake beds in Quynh Loc and Quynh Lap communes, agreeing to allow Hung Dung Construction and Trading Investment Joint Stock Company to carry out the dredging project.

Dredging work at Ba Hao Lake is still in progress. Photo: Nhat Lan

In fact, the water surface at the dams in Quynh Loc commune is narrow and shallow. At Khe Nghe and Ba Hao lakes, two places where dredging is underway, it is evident that the work is unfinished; it is evident that sand has been pumped (Khe Nghe lake) and soil has been dug (Ba Hao lake). However, according to nearby families, the enterprise has stopped operating for several months. According to the assessment of Quynh Loc commune, through the words of Mr. Le Duy Trung - Chairman of the Commune People's Committee: "The effectiveness of increasing water storage capacity has been achieved".

Regarding the content of the reflection on illegal sand and soil mining, Mr. Trung also said that in 2016, Quynh Loc commune was directed by the People's Committee of Hoang Mai town to handle the petition of the people regarding similar content. Through verification, the petition was under the name of a person claiming to be the Commune Veterans Association, but there is no such person in Quynh Loc. However, before the content of the petition, the commune clearly informed the people in the area about the purpose of the project; the legal basis that the People's Committee of Hoang Mai town agreed to let Hung Dung Construction and Trading Investment Joint Stock Company implement...

Working with the representative of the Economic Department of Hoang Mai Town (the department that conducts the appraisal of the dredging plan for lakes and dams in Quynh Loc commune), it is known that the dredging volume of Hung Dung Construction and Trading Investment Joint Stock Company is about 150,000m³; implemented at Ba Hao Lake, Khe Bau Lake, Phu Nu Lake, Khe Nen Lake and Khe Nghe Lake. The dredging plan of this company is assessed as qualified for approval. When questioned, "Although the main goal is to dredge and increase the water capacity of the dams, allowing businesses to collect soil and sand is related to resource exploitation. Does the People's Committee of Hoang Mai Town allowing businesses to collect soil and sand ensure compliance with the provisions of the law?"

Mr. Hoang Ngoc Thuy - Head of the Economic Department explained: "The project aims to solve a practical problem at the grassroots level; moreover, the scale of the project is small, so the town's approval is still "applied", and there may be shortcomings". According to Mr. Thuy, the dredging design area is far from the water intake, occupies a small proportion compared to the water surface and is funded by the enterprise's own capital; at the same time, the project is implemented within 3 years...; the construction time and construction volume are not much, so the town has not yet had a specific assessment of the project...

Drought-ridden fields in Quynh Loc. Photo: Nhat Lan

According to the provisions of the Law on Minerals, soil and sand are in the group of common construction materials. At Point 2, Article 64 (mining minerals for common construction materials) of the Law on Minerals stipulates: organizations and individuals exploiting minerals for common construction materials do not have to apply for a Mineral Exploitation License in the case of exploitation within the land area of ​​a construction investment project that has been approved or permitted for investment by a competent state management agency and the exploited products are only used for the construction of that project.

At the same time, before proceeding with mineral exploitation, organizations and individuals must register the area, capacity, volume, method, equipment and exploitation plan with the provincial People's Committee. According to this regulation, it can be seen that Hoang Mai Town's agreement to allow enterprises to collect soil and sand in Quynh Loc Commune is not in accordance with the provisions of the law. Firstly, it has not been reported to the provincial People's Committee for approval; secondly, the collected soil and sand do not serve the project.

Given the fact that the dams are small and shallow, while most of the fields in Quynh Loc commune are dry, it is necessary to carry out the dam dredging project. In the context of the local and provincial economy still facing difficulties, allowing businesses to invest their own capital to carry out the dredging project, in return, to collect all the sand and soil is also an acceptable way.

However, Hoang Mai Town needs to fully study the provisions of the law and submit them to the competent authority for consideration and approval. In addition, it is necessary to direct relevant departments and Quynh Loc commune to closely monitor; assign responsibility to enterprises to ensure that dredging is carried out in accordance with the approved design and plan so that the goal of increasing the water capacity of lakes and dams is achieved. Only then will there be no suspicion or complaints among officials and people...

Ha Giang