Group discussion 6: Hot issue of allocating forest land to people for production

Attending the meeting were comrade Phan Duc Dong - Member of the Standing Committee, Head of the Provincial Party Committee's Internal Affairs Committee. Comrade Lang Van Chien - Secretary of the District Party Committee, Chairman of the People's Council of Que Phong district chaired the discussion. Photo: My Nga

Also attending were delegates of the Provincial People's Council from the constituencies of Que Phong, Quy Chau, Quy Hop districts; departments and branches: Finance, Natural Resources and Environment, Transport and Communications, Provincial Inspectorate, Provincial Military Command, Provincial Ethnic Committee, Provincial Women's Union, Vinh Foreign Trade Bank, Provincial State Treasury.

At the group discussion session 6, delegates focused on discussing issues related to socio-economic development such as agricultural and forestry policies, restructuring policies, model conversion in agriculture, sustainability of localities after reaching the new rural finish line...

Delegates assessed the implementation of socio-economic tasks in the first 6 months of 2018; draft resolutions submitted to the session; activities of the Provincial People's Council and the direction and administration of the Provincial People's Committee...

From there, Mr. Giap proposed having appropriate mechanisms, especially policies on allocating forest land to people, so that people can continue to stay connected to and protect the forest.

Mr. Le Van Giap - Chairman of Que Phong District People's Committee reflected that most of the businesses attracted to invest in mountainous districts are only focusing on building hydropower plants, without really paying attention to developing agricultural value.

"If there is any, it is only moderate and not maintained with a sustainable orientation," Mr. Giap said, suggesting that the province have a special mechanism, creating a product value chain to connect people and businesses, promoting the development process of mountainous districts.

The Chairman of Que Phong District People's Committee also mentioned the major consequences of the construction of hydropower plants such as people losing their land for production, affecting people's lives. Although resettlement areas have been built, the leaders of this district said that in the near future, these resettlement areas will face many difficulties such as degraded infrastructure; support money will not be enough to maintain when the population is increasing.

Also related to the issue of forest land allocation to people, delegate Nguyen Dinh Minh - member of the Ethnic Committee of the Provincial People's Council reflected the recommendations of voters in Quy Chau. He said that up to now, many households have not received support according to Decree 163 of the Government on forest land allocation to people or Decree 75 of the Government on the policy mechanism for forest protection and protection, increasing income associated with sustainable poverty reduction policy. The delegate suggested to soon come up with solutions to help people in mountainous areas to be able to live from forestry.

Chairman of Quy Chau District People's Committee Ngo Duc Thuan proposed investing in electricity for particularly difficult areas. Photo: My Nga

Referring to the situation of mineral exploitation in the locality, Mr. Nguyen Dinh Tung - Chairman of Quy Hop People's Committee said that although mineral exploitation brings high revenue, it creates consequences for the environment, traffic, security and order.

Mr. Tung stated that, according to the provisions of Article 5 of the Law on Minerals, revenue from mineral exploitation and processing is allocated to localities with mineral exploitation activities to overcome environmental pollution, but this is not yet included in the provincial budget estimate. He suggested that in the 2019 budget estimate, the province should allocate funds to localities in accordance with regulations.

In addition, delegates at the discussion session also mentioned issues such as: the need for a specific roadmap when providing children and seedlings to people, suitable to the soil conditions of each locality; medical examination and treatment at the Tay Bac General Hospital; sustainable poverty reduction solutions for ethnic minorities in Western Nghe An...

Concluding the discussion session, Mr. Lang Van Chien - Secretary of the District Party Committee, Chairman of the People's Council of Que Phong district acknowledged the contributions of the delegates and fully summarized them to reflect in the next working session of the Provincial People's Council.