Land grabbing incidents recur in Chau Binh: Resolve the conflict decisively!

Conflict

The incident of people in Poom Lau village planting trees and occupying land on November 5, 2023, was reported by Nghe An Newspaper in the article "Poom Lau: The issue of forest land is heating up.(November 26, 2023).

This situation arose because the encroached land had been reviewed by the Quy Chau District People's Committee and the Co Ba Forestry Station in 2017, with a plan to return it to the local authorities by 2023. However, the Co Ba Forestry Station lacked proactive coordination with the Quy Chau District and Chau Binh Commune authorities to implement the signed plan, leading to the Poom Lau residents planting trees and occupying the land. Following this, the Quy Chau District Party Committee and People's Committee clarified the cause and, together with Song Hieu Forestry Company Limited and the Co Ba Forestry Station, agreed on a solution during a dialogue on November 6th: the Co Ba Forestry Station will return the land to the local authorities no later than the end of the first quarter of 2024.

The above plan received the consensus of the people of Poom Lau village. However, on November 25th, also in Chau Binh commune, some people from Dong Cong village committed a similar act. They organized the planting of trees and occupied land in the newly harvested acacia hill area, covering approximately 8 hectares. Upon investigating the reason, Mr. Pham Xuan Tinh, a resident of Dong Cong village, explained that the land encroached upon was managed by the Co Ba Forestry Station, but the person carrying out the work was a former leader of the forestry station who did not live in Quy Chau district. “The people know that occupying the land is wrong. But they believe that if the forestry station allows people from outside the area to do it, they can do it too…,” Mr. Pham Xuan Tinh said.

At the time of the incident, Mr. Pham Quang Tan, the head of Dong Cong village, was away receiving medical treatment and was not in the area. However, based on the information gathered, Mr. Tan confirmed that the incident was caused by the same reason that Mr. Pham Van Tinh had mentioned…

In Chau Binh commune, on December 1, 2023, land cadastral officer Nguyen Van Quang stated that the Party Committee and local authorities quickly grasped the information regarding the incident in Dong Cong village. Thanks to this, they promptly reported to the District Party Committee and the Quy Chau District People's Committee, who then went to the scene to stabilize the situation and prevent the escalation of tensions. Regarding the origin of the land encroached upon by the people of Dong Cong village on November 25, Mr. Quang said it belongs to parcel 174, map sheet number 4, with a total area of ​​approximately 11 hectares (about 2.9 hectares of which have been granted land use rights certificates). The cadastral map shows it as being managed by the Co Ba Forestry Farm, and it is not included in the plan to return it to the local authorities. Regarding the land user, the former leader of the Co Ba Forestry Farm has retired and does not reside in the district.

According to Mr. Quang, when the district leaders arrived at the scene, the people expressed their opinion that allowing outsiders to use the land, which is under the management of the forestry station, is against the law.

Upon receiving the information, the Secretary and Chairman of the District People's Committee, Nguyen Thanh Hoai, discussed the matter and stated that the district would review and re-evaluate the situation. If the land is under the management of the forestry farm and the household currently engaged in production is not eligible for state-allocated forestry land, the district will propose to the competent authorities to reclaim the land and return it to the locality. Simultaneously, it was stipulated that no one is allowed to plant trees or encroach on the land during the review period.

"The people agreed with what the district leaders said...", said Mr. Nguyen Van Quang.

The forestry station commits to returning the land.

In the article "Poom Lầu: The 'Hot' Issue of Forest Land," Nghe An Newspaper reported that after the dialogue on November 6, 2023, organized by the Quy Chau District People's Committee, Co Ba Forestry Farm submitted Proposal No. 368/TT-LT dated November 7, 2023, to the Department of Natural Resources and Environment and Song Hieu Forestry and Agriculture Company Limited, requesting to return the land. The land area that Co Ba Forestry Farm requested to return includes plots No. 71, 85, 89, and 112, map sheet No. 1, in Chau Binh commune, Quy Chau district, with a total area of ​​over 81.5 hectares.

Also on December 1, 2023, the Director of Co Ba Forestry Farm, Mr. Dang Van Nghi, stated that the Forestry Farm agreed to return the entire land area to the local authorities in accordance with Decree No. 118/ND-CP (which had been jointly reviewed and agreed upon by Song Hieu Forestry and Agriculture Company Limited, Quy Chau District People's Committee, and Chau Binh Commune People's Committee on January 14, 2017). "As a business operating in the area, we don't want the people to misunderstand, leading to unpleasant conflicts...", Director Dang Van Nghi explained.

The information provided by the Director of Co Ba Forestry Farm is reflected in Report No. 386/TTr-LT dated November 22, 2023, requesting the return of land, sent to the Department of Natural Resources and Environment and Song Hieu Forestry and Agriculture Company Limited; and Notice No. 389/TB-LT dated November 25, 2023, regarding "Co Ba Forestry Farm returning land to local management," sent to the People's Committee of Chau Binh Commune.

In Report No. 386/TTr-LT, Co Ba Forestry Enterprise requested Song Hieu Forestry and Agriculture Company Limited to submit a proposal to the Department of Natural Resources and Environment to advise the Provincial People's Committee to reclaim an area of ​​95.64 hectares (including plots 208, 108, 259, 221, 125, 167, 173, 203, 179, 321, 340 of map sheet No. 4) to return it to the locality. Furthermore, in Notice No. 389/TB-LT, Co Ba Forestry Station informed the Chau Binh Commune People's Committee that the forestry station had submitted two proposals, No. 368/TT-LT dated November 7, 2023, and No. 386/TTr-LT dated November 22, 2023, requesting the competent authority to reclaim land with a total area of ​​177.2 hectares (in the Bang Met area, Sub-area 193, and the areas of Sub-areas 198, 200, and 217).

The Co Ba Forestry Station affirmed that, according to the land use plan approved by the Provincial People's Committee, the area for which a land return plan has been approved but no land reclamation decision has been issued is 192.2 hectares; after returning 177.2 hectares, only 15 hectares of bamboo forest in Sub-area 193 remain to be returned in this phase. "The Co Ba Forestry Station is notifying the Chau Binh Commune People's Committee and disseminating information to the people to ensure security and order in the area," the Co Ba Forestry Station requested the Chau Binh Commune People's Committee in Notice No. 389/TB-LT.

Regarding the incident involving the people of Dong Cong village on November 25th, Mr. Dang Van Nghi stated that the household in question was formerly a leader of the forestry station. Regarding the land in question, after reviewing land records, it was determined that from 2003 to the present, it has not been under the management of the forestry station. Mr. Dang Van Nghi also stated that the former forestry station leader's forest planting activities are a historical matter, and he added: "At this point, in my opinion, the household currently using the land should voluntarily return it to the local authorities..."

This needs to be resolved urgently!

According to information from the Department of Natural Resources and Environment, after receiving two applications for land return from Song Hieu Forestry and Agriculture Co., Ltd. and Co Ba Forestry Farm, the Department issued Document No. 8222/STNMT-QLĐĐ dated November 17, 2023, and Document No. 8560/STNMT-QLĐĐ dated November 29, 2023, to the People's Committee of Quy Chau District and Song Hieu Forestry and Agriculture Co., Ltd. Accordingly, in order to have a basis for advising the Provincial People's Committee on land recovery in accordance with regulations and without generating complaints, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment requested the People's Committee of Quy Chau District to preside over and coordinate with Song Hieu Forestry and Agriculture Co., Ltd., Chau Binh Commune People's Committee, and relevant units to inspect and report clearly on the origin and users of the land; the current land use status; and any complaints or disputes (if any) related to the land area proposed for recovery.

Regarding the Quy Chau District People's Committee, they have reviewed the current status, origin, and land users of the land parcels proposed for reclamation from Song Hieu Forestry and Agriculture Co., Ltd. in the Bang Met area, Sub-area 193, as requested by the Department of Natural Resources and Environment in Document No. 8222/STNMT-QLĐĐ dated November 17, 2023; and on November 29, 2023, a report was sent to the Department of Natural Resources and Environment. Mr. Tran Bao Linh, Head of the Quy Chau District Department of Natural Resources and Environment, stated that in the coming days, the district will continue to review the land areas requested by Co Ba Forestry Farm in Submission No. 386/TTr-LT dated November 22, 2023, to report to the Department of Natural Resources and Environment as requested in Document No. 8560/STNMT-QLĐĐ dated November 29, 2023. Next, they will inspect and review the land areas where some residents of Dong Cong village have been planting trees and encroaching on the land, in order to come up with a plan for handling the situation. “These are quite complex tasks, requiring meticulousness and accuracy, but the district will try to focus on completing them to definitively resolve this issue…,” said Tran Bao Linh, Head of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment.

In a discussion with the Chairman of the People's Committee of Chau Binh commune, Mr. Le Van Toan, he stated that many households in the area are directly engaged in agricultural production but lack the necessary land resources; some households have been allocated forest land, but the allocated land is natural forest unsuitable for production. Therefore, Mr. Le Van Toan said: “We hope that the competent authorities of the province will direct Song Hieu Forestry and Agriculture Company Limited and Co Ba Forestry Farm to complete the land handover process, so that the Quy Chau district and Chau Binh commune authorities can allocate the land to the people…”