Tan Ky faces difficulties in building new rural areas

Difficult from the base

Nghia Dong Commune is the locality reaching the finish line.NTMsince the end of 2014, therefore, in 2021, the locality strives to complete the construction of advanced NTM. This is also the plan set by Tan Ky district with the desire to build an advanced NTM commune model right in the locality. However, looking at reality, Nghia Dong commune is facing many difficulties that the Party Committee, government and people are concerned about.

Although the government and people have actively participated in implementing the advanced NTM criteria, so far only 10/15 criteria have been completed, with 5 criteria remaining, including: Traffic, environment, health, economic development model and political system. Of which, the most difficult criteria are traffic, environment and health. Because this year the locality has not completed any traffic kilometers out of the 14 km of alley roads in the plan to be concreted this year. The reason is that cement has not been supported, while the hamlets have basically completed the site clearance and road leveling.

Mr. Vo Duy Hien - Chairman of Nghia Dong Commune People's Committee

Nghia Dong Commune Health Station was built more than 30 years ago, but is now degraded and its scale does not meet requirements. Photo: Xuan Hoang

Regarding the health criteria, the most difficult thing is that the physical facilities of the commune health station have not met the requirements. Because the entire 2 ground-floor buildings were built over 30 years ago, they have now degraded and their scale does not meet practical requirements. To achieve the advanced NTM criteria, the commune health station must invest in building a spacious high-rise building, providing enough working space, examination and initial treatment for the medical staff, doctors and patients. With an estimated investment capital of over 4 billion VND to build a new commune health station, the local budget is not enough. If there is no project to build a commune health station this year, the locality cannot complete the advanced NTM.

Environmental criteria, todayNghia Dong communeis investing in upgrading the martyrs' cemetery with an estimated cost of 5 billion VND, using socialized capital, and implementing models of planting trees, green walls, and flower roads, gradually forming green - clean - beautiful roads, to ensure the spiritual needs of the people.
The more difficult thing is that the communes are still trying to reach the NTM finish line this year. Nghia Dung commune is one of three communes in Tan Ky district that have planned to reach the NTM finish line this year, but when talking about the criteria that the locality is having difficulty with, Chairman of the People's Committee Nguyen Doan Loan said: Currently, the locality has not met 5 criteria, including: Traffic; cultural facilities; market; environment and political system. Of which, the most worrying criterion is the traffic criterion. Because in addition to 2,000 tons of cement that have not been received, there are 2 main roads that need to be upgraded before the locality welcomes the NTM commune. Those are the Lat road to Nghia Dung, Nghia Hop through the commune about 5 km long, which is under construction, and the road connecting Ho Chi Minh road to the commune center about 3.5 km long, which is damaged in many places and needs to be upgraded.

“The locality is striving to reach the finish line by the end of 2021, so the locality's wish is that the State accelerates the construction progress of the Lat - Nghia Dung and Nghia Hop roads and upgrades the route connecting Ho Chi Minh road to the commune center so that people are excited before the day of receiving the commune meeting NTM standards,” Mr. Nguyen Doan Loan shared.

One of the bridges on the route from Lat to Nghia Dung and Nghia Hop is under construction. Photo: Xuan Hoang

Ms. Nguyen Thi Huyen, a resident of Nghia Dung commune, said that the village and hamlet roads have been expanded and concreted cleanly and beautifully according to the NTM criteria, with the motto "The State and the people work together", so the major roads managed by the district and province also need to be invested in synchronously, then when the commune reaches the NTM finish line, the people will be truly excited.

Hope to have support policy soon

In general, communes registered to reach the NTM and advanced NTM targets in Tan Ky district are facing difficulties because up to now they have not received support resources from the State.
Mr. Nguyen Cong Trung - Head of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Tan Ky district said: Implementing the National Target Program on New Rural Construction, with the active participation of authorities at all levels and people in the district, Tan Ky has achieved many important results. In 2021, in the district, there are 3 communes registered to reach the New Rural Finish Line (Nghia Hanh, Nghia Dung, Nghia Hop) and 1 commune striving to complete the construction of advanced New Rural Construction (Nghia Dong commune). Right from the beginning of the year, these localities have actively participated, with the drastic direction of local Party Committees and authorities and the active support of the people, so the number of unfinished criteria has been shortened.

However, the immediate difficulty that Tan Ky district is facing is because this is the first year of implementation of the new phase, so up to this July, from the Central to the local level, resources have not been allocated to invest in the locality to build the new rural area, including the policy of supporting cement for communes registered to reach the new rural area and communes completing the advanced new rural area are still not available.

The road connecting Ho Chi Minh road to Nghia Dung commune is degraded. Photo: Xuan Hoang

Another difficulty is that this year, Tan Ky district has 6 hamlets registered to reach the NTM finish line, but according to Decision 861/CP of the Government on extremely disadvantaged communes, Tan Ky district does not have any extremely disadvantaged communes, which means that the hamlets do not have a policy to support cement for road construction, making it difficult to launch the NTM construction movement in the hamlets.