Group discussion 5: The consequences of hydropower are huge and long-term.

Attending the discussion session of group 5 were comrades Nguyen Van Thong - Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee; Nguyen Huu Cau - Member of the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee, Director of the Provincial Police Department; Tran Van Mao - Deputy Head of the Provincial National Assembly Delegation. Photo: Thanh Cuong.

The issue mentioned by many delegates is related to the huge consequences of hydropower projects on the lives of people in mountainous districts.

Delegate Nguyen Dinh Hung (Con Cuong) reflected on the local reality that in the meetings with voters, up to 80% of voters' opinions and petitions were related to hydropower issues. Every year, through receiving and resolving petitions, up to 2/3 of citizens' petitions were related to hydropower projects.

Mr. Nguyen Dinh Hung emphasized: “Many opinions say that hydropower is making people’s lives poorer, not making them rich. This is an issue of concern when considering hydropower projects.”

Delegate Nguyen Dinh Hung (Con Cuong) speaks at the group discussion session. Photo: Thanh Cuong.

Also mentioning hydropower projects, delegate Nguyen Thanh Hoang (Ky Son) said that Ky Son district currently has 10 hydropower projects, of which 3 projects have come into operation.

The construction and operation of hydropower projects in the area have destroyed aquatic resources on the Nam Non River, affecting the livelihoods of many households fishing on the river.

Currently, to implement the My Ly hydropower project, nearly 500 households with about 4,000 people must be relocated, while there is no land for resettlement, and the relocation of people is posing many safety risks.

The consequences also affected the planning and construction of some welfare projects such as schools in some localities, which had to be temporarily suspended, affecting the rights of students and people. Delegate Nguyen Thanh Hoang suggested that the province should stop implementing two hydropower projects in Ky Son, including Nam Mo I hydropower plant and My Ly hydropower plant.

Delegate Nguyen Huu Cau (Ky Son) suggested that the Provincial People's Council needs to have supreme supervision on hydropower issues to have timely instructions, otherwise it will leave extremely serious consequences. Photo: Thanh Cuong.

Delegate Nguyen Huu Cau (Ky Son) said: “We cannot deny the economic and social efficiency that hydropower projects bring, but the consequences are also very large and the important thing is that the thoughts and feelings of the Party committees, authorities and people of mountainous districts are not interested in hydropower projects. Currently, hydropower projects are built and generate electricity to make money, while people lose land, lose their houses, are affected by environmental pollution and resettlement work is also extremely difficult. Its consequences are also very long-term”.

There is a mechanism for the version to meet NTM standards.

Delegate Lau Ba Chay (Ky Son) reflected a series of difficulties in building new rural areas in Ky Son, such as complex terrain; high poverty rate, accounting for more than 50%, so mobilizing internal resources is extremely difficult; in the past 2 years, the province has not supported cement; sand and gravel have not been exploited...

Therefore, the construction of new rural areas in Ky Son is still very slow; the whole district has only 1 village recognized as meeting new rural standards out of a total of 193 villages in the whole district.

Delegate Lau Ba Chay recommended that the province should study and have specific policies for mountainous districts, first of all, having policies to support the construction of villages meeting the new rural criteria and paying attention to providing cement for localities to build roads.

Delegate Lau Ba Chay (Ky Son) proposed that the province should study policies for the village to meet the NTM criteria. Photo: Thanh Cuong.

Also concerned about the new rural construction program, delegate Nguyen Van Hai (Tuong Duong) said that up to this point, half a year has passed but the capital for the new rural construction program has not been allocated to localities; this affects many communes that have registered to reach the new rural finish line. Therefore, the Provincial People's Committee is requested to resolve this issue.

"This is one of the reasons why some people and village officials are not interested in building new rural areas; therefore, the province needs to study and have a mechanism to encourage localities to focus more," the delegate emphasized.

Delegate Nguyen Van Hai (Tuong Duong) reflects on the slow allocation of capital for the new rural construction program. Photo: Thanh Cuong.

At Group 5, many issues were also discussed by delegates, including solutions to achieve growth rate and budget revenue for the whole year of 2018; the issue of land and forest allocation to mountainous people; strengthening land management at the grassroots level; solutions to ensure traffic safety on some routes where traffic accidents frequently occur; speeding up the allocation of resources for the school consolidation program, etc.