Quickly resolve problems in site clearance for the National Highway 7 upgrade project

Stuck in land clearance

Mr. Hoang Van Chau - Executive Director of National Highway 7 project said: The project to upgrade National Highway 7, section Km0 - Km36 and handle landslides caused by storms and floods in the Khe Thoi - Nam Can section, Nghe An province, was approved for investment in Decision No. 1338/QD-BGTVT dated July 20, 2021 with a total investment of VND 1,300 billion by Project Management Board 4 as the investor. The project has implemented 3/3 construction packages, with the value of implementation to date being about VND 89.2 billion. However, difficulties in site clearance are affecting the project's construction progress, especially the section through Dien Chau district.

Hoang Son urban area (left of route) has a natural stone pavement within the road corridor that has not been dismantled. Photo: Thu Huyen

The National Highway 7 Upgrade Project through Dien Chau District has a total length of 9.18 km, passing through 05 communes (including Dien Chau Town, Dien Thanh, Dien Phuc, Dien Cat and Minh Chau communes). During the project implementation, 909 plots of land were affected, of which 402 plots were residential land, 397 plots were agricultural land and 110 plots were other land (traffic, irrigation, non-agricultural land other than residential land, unused land, etc.). The total number of residential land plots that must be resettled is 15 plots (in Dien Phuc Commune). In particular, Dien Chau Town does not have to reclaim land because the boundary marking does not affect the land plots of households and individuals.

According to the report of Dien Chau District People's Committee, in the field, the district has handed over land at locations that do not require site clearance to investors in discontinuous sections from Km0+00 - Km9+180 (including left and right sides of the route) for about 10km/18.36km. The technical measurement of land plots (including residential land and agricultural land) in the 4 communes of Dien Phuc, Dien Thanh, Dien Cat and Minh Chau has been completed. However, up to now, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment has only accepted and approved the measurement results of the entire Minh Chau commune (including residential land and agricultural land) and 70% of households in Dien Phuc commune. The residential land in the communes of Dien Phuc, Dien Thanh and Dien Cat has not yet been approved for measurement results due to some problems.

Some agricultural land plots on the left side of the route through Dien Thanh commune have not been signed because the people have sold the land to others. Photo: Thu Huyen

Mr. Le Manh Hien - Vice Chairman of the District People's Committee, Chairman of the District Compensation and Site Clearance Council said: We have organized a review, inventory, and statistics of the affected technical infrastructure system; directed relevant departments and branches to organize the task, select the design unit to relocate and renovate for reimbursement. The District People's Committee has also issued many documents requesting the branches to make statistics of the telecommunications and cable television systems, and propose plans, but so far there has been no report on the volume of the managing units.

In addition, there are more than 4,578m of water supply pipeline of Dien Chau Water Supply Joint Stock Company running along National Highway 7 but there are no related legal documents to establish a compensation and support plan. The district is working with the management unit to unify the plan and implement site clearance for the part that has been measured (mainly agricultural land); At the same time, conducting an inventory of the current land use status to apply prices and establish compensation records according to regulations.

Quickly remove difficulties and speed up progress

The reason for the delay in site clearance is explained as some households have not returned from working far away and have not yet obtained the Land Use Rights Certificate to review and compare, so they have not signed the documents. The current land use status of households and individuals has many fluctuations in area, boundaries, landmarks, etc. compared to the Land Use Rights Certificate. Over many periods, the expansion and upgrading of National Highway 7 has been carried out many times, so collecting, verifying documents, and agreeing on compensation plans has encountered many difficulties. 33 agricultural land plots were not signed because the people had sold the land to others (Hoang Son Urban Area), while this Urban Area also has a natural stone pavement within the road corridor that has not been dismantled.

Some sections and sites have been handed over to the construction unit. Photo: Thu Huyen

In addition, for sections passing through residential areas, determining the current road foot scope is difficult because people have leveled the land, the Road Management Agency and related units do not have the records of completion of construction of National Highway 7 through the periods to serve as a basis for determination. Many people have not agreed to sign the confirmation of the measurement results, and require the measurement to show the land area that has changed over the periods, including the land area that has been implemented in previous projects but has not been reclaimed.

Faced with these difficulties, Mr. Le Manh Hien - Vice Chairman of Dien Chau District People's Committee, Chairman of the District Compensation and Site Clearance Council said that to speed up the progress, the district focuses on propagating and mobilizing people with a rolling approach, handing over the site as it is reclaimed. In particular, we focus on clearing the section from Dien Chau town intersection to the connecting intersection with the North-South Expressway (Km0 - Km5) according to the direction of the Ministry of Transport to be completed by July 2023.

Contractors are concentrating machinery on the section of the route that has cleared the ground. Photo: Thu Huyen

To ensure project progress, at the same time limit errors in the process of making measurement results, compiling compensation records for land acquisition and clearance, avoiding prolonged complaints later,... Dien Chau District People's Committee requests the Department of Natural Resources and Environment to support in terms of professional expertise, guide the District People's Committee to resolve difficulties and problems; For residential land plots with origins of use before December 21, 1982, people request compensation for this area, but when measuring, they encounter difficulties because the current usage status compared to previous land allocation documents and compared to the current Land Use Rights Certificate do not match. The District People's Committee requests the Provincial People's Committee and departments and branches to allow the district to determine the scope of land allocation according to the current road to make measurements and extracts.

“With the above-mentioned difficulties, it is very difficult to complete the project on schedule. In particular, the work of signing households on the measurement map in Dien Chau district (up to now, only 741/909 plots have been signed). Currently, there are many projects in the district that are implementing land clearance work, so we request the People's Committee of Dien Chau district to give priority to and direct the People's Committees of communes, measurement consulting units and assign members of the Land Clearance Council to urgently organize meetings with people or visit each household to persuade and explain to complete the signing of the remaining plots. In case households do not cooperate to sign or are absent, we will also promptly complete the documents and submit them to the competent authority for approval" - Mr. Hoang Van Chau - Executive Director of the National Highway project emphasized.