Merger of hamlets and villages in Thanh Chuong district: Many concerns remain.

A view of Thanh Chuong district.

Many concerns remain regarding the "3-in-1" neighborhood.

Although Lien Duc hamlet in Thanh Lien commune is one of the hamlets slated for merger, its officials and residents are currently busy preparing the courtyard for the hamlet's cultural center. According to the plan, Lien Duc will merge with two other hamlets: Lien Bang and Lien Trung. The people of Lien Duc agree with and support the merger, but still have some concerns.

Mr. Nguyen Xuan Nghi, Party Secretary and Head of Lien Duc Hamlet, shared his concerns: “My biggest worry is how to handle and utilize the hamlet's cultural centers. When Thanh Lien Hamlet strived to achieve the new rural development goals, all the hamlet's cultural centers were newly built, spacious, clean, and beautiful. Now, with the merger of three hamlets into one, how can we appropriately utilize the cultural centers? Using all three is impractical, but using only one is even more unreasonable because the number of households has increased three or four times, and building another new cultural center would be incredibly wasteful and time-consuming.”

Residents of Thanh Lien commune give their opinions on the merger plan. Photo: Huu Thinh

Thanh Lien is a mountainous commune in Thanh Chuong district, implementing the policy of merging hamlets and villages in accordance with Circular No. 14 of the Ministry of Interior (Circular No. 14/2018/TT-BNV dated December 3, 2018, amending and supplementing some articles of Circular No. 04/2012/TT-BNV dated August 31, 2012, of the Minister of Interior guiding the organization and operation of hamlets and residential areas).

According to regulations, a hamlet or block should have 250 households, so Thanh Lien commune, which previously had 16 hamlets, has now merged into 7. In reality, the merger of hamlets is necessary, but many issues still need careful consideration during implementation, especially regarding the characteristics and topography of the merged hamlets.

Mr. Phan Bá Ngọc, Chairman of the People's Committee of Thanh Liên commune (Thanh Chương district), said: "During the process of merging hamlets and villages in Thanh Liên, we still have many concerns. The commune's population is almost entirely composed of three hamlets merged into one. As a result, some hamlets have fewer residents but cover a vast area of ​​up to 4 km after the merger, while others have seen a population increase of 300-400 people, making daily life and management very difficult. Meanwhile, the number of hamlet officials has not increased."

The merger of hamlets and villages in the communes of the district has also raised a major issue in resolving the benefits and policies for part-time officials. Before the merger, Thanh Lien commune had 80 hamlet and village officials; now, from 16 merged into 7 hamlets, the number of officials has decreased to 35. The crucial question is how to appropriately resolve the benefits and policies for those who have retired and those who have continued working in the hamlets and villages. Solving this problem will ensure a clear understanding among officials and the people. Only then will work efficiency be high, added Mr. Phan Ba ​​Ngoc, Chairman of the People's Committee of Thanh Lien commune.

The number of village and hamlet officials decreased from 2,530 to 1,356.

Thanh Lien commune was merged from 16 villages and hamlets to 7 villages and hamlets. Photo: Huu Thinh

Besides Thanh Lien commune, all localities in Thanh Chuong district are currently reviewing the number of households in hamlets according to Circular No. 14/2018 of the Ministry of Interior and Resolution No. 18 of the 6th Plenum of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam (12th term) on: "Some issues on continuing to innovate and reorganize the organizational structure of the political system to be streamlined, effective and efficient." The Standing Committee of the Thanh Chuong District Party Committee has issued Plan 63 to organize its implementation.

At the commune level, the entire district has 5 communes that meet both population and area criteria; 22 communes meet the population criterion; 13 communes do not meet the population criterion, and no communes meet the area criterion.

Regarding the hamlet level: Before the merger, Thanh Chuong district had 506 hamlets, villages, and communities with 2,530 non-specialized officials. Of these, 321 hamlets, blocks, and communities had a household size of less than 50% and were therefore subject to merger. 182 hamlets, blocks, and communities with a household size of 50% or more were merged in areas that met the criteria, with 3 hamlets meeting the criteria for household size.

Residents of Thanh Duc commune (Thanh Chuong district) are growing off-season oranges. Photo: Huu Thinh

According to the plan after the merger, Thanh Chuong district will only have 233 hamlets, a reduction of 273 hamlets, along with a reduction of 1,365 people working in villages and hamlets, equivalent to a cost reduction of tens of billions of VND per year. To ensure the village merger meets the set objectives, requirements, and schedule, the Thanh Chuong District People's Committee is currently actively directing and guiding the necessary documents and procedures so that localities understand and implement the process effectively.

Mr. Nguyen Cao Thanh, Head of the Internal Affairs Department of Thanh Chuong District, said that the implementation of the project to merge villages and hamlets in the district has been basically completed. The District People's Committee is directing localities to gather opinions on the merger from the people and submit them to the People's Councils of the communes for a resolution, reporting back to the District People's Committee before April 20th.