Hoang Mai town: Numerous illegal construction projects
Despite being located within the planned Dong Hoi Industrial Park, many households and individuals in Quynh Lap commune (Hoang Mai town) are still illegally constructing houses. Local authorities have had to set up checkpoints to prevent this, causing considerable inconvenience.
Many houses were built illegally.
In the Dong Quan area, Dong Minh village, Quynh Lap commune (Hoang Mai town), a series of illegally constructed house foundations have recently appeared. These foundations are built on land designated for perennial and annual crops, which has not been converted to residential land. Furthermore, this area is within the planned Dong Hoi Industrial Park, yet many households in Dong Minh village are disregarding the law and proceeding with illegal construction.
From the entrance gate of Dong Minh village, following the winding, single-lane road through the densely populated residential area leads to the Dong Quan area. This is a low hillock extending into the sea. From above, one can easily see many scattered house foundations interspersed with shrimp ponds. Some sturdy two-story houses have completed their rough construction and are awaiting finishing touches. Some foundations are still being built on land that has been divided into adjacent plots. Next to them are various building materials such as sand, gravel, bricks, and stones stockpiled at the construction sites. Some foundations have iron pillars wrapped in old packaging waiting to be installed.
According to representatives of the Dong Minh village committee, these house foundations were built a few years ago, even though the area was already included in the Dong Hoi Industrial Park plan (announced in 2010). However, because the plan has been in place for a long time without being implemented, and the population is growing, people are not allowed to expand, build houses, or even separate land titles for their children. As a result, many households have "risked" building houses on the Dong Quan area, which they had previously purchased.
However, the local authorities subsequently issued construction suspension orders, forcing the households to restore the original condition before the violations occurred.
Through our investigation, we learned that there are approximately 10 illegally constructed foundations and unfinished houses in this area. From September 2023 to early 2024, the People's Committee of Quynh Lap commune issued violation reports against these structures. Based on these reports, depending on the severity, local authorities from the commune to the town level issued decisions on handling the violations. Specifically, the People's Committee of Hoang Mai town issued 8 decisions requiring remedial measures. However, to date, the households have still not dismantled the structures to restore the original state.
Set up checkpoints
Following the single-lane road leading to the area with numerous illegally constructed house foundations, we passed a checkpoint set up by the People's Committee of Quynh Lap commune to prevent vehicles carrying construction materials from entering the illegal construction area. This checkpoint has been in operation since the end of 2023.
Through a conversation with a member of the control team, I learned that this checkpoint operates continuously throughout the day, divided into two shifts. The daytime shift runs from 6:30 AM to 6:30 PM; the nighttime shift runs from 7:00 PM the previous day to 6:00 AM the following day.
According to a member of the control team here, each shift consists of 4 to 5 people, with each person receiving 70,000 VND for food. Initially, the checkpoint was set up haphazardly in a corner, but later they borrowed a small, single-story house with a corrugated iron roof from a local resident. The members of the shift take turns cooking, but sometimes they don't even have the ingredients. It's extremely inconvenient.
Perhaps this is an exceptional case where the authorities had to set up a guard post to prevent people from building illegally. We also heard complaints from many people while manning the guard post here. They said there are many other ways, such as educating and persuading people to comply with the law; strictly enforcing regulations and forcibly demolishing illegal structures... There's no need to set up a guard post like during the Covid-19 pandemic, mobilizing everyone from the Chairman of the People's Committee to police officers to take turns guarding the place.
After repeatedly failing to contact Mr. Nguyen Van Nho, Chairman of the People's Committee of Quynh Lap commune, we spoke with Mr. Ho Canh Thuan, Secretary of the Party Committee of Quynh Lap commune. According to Mr. Thuan, the area where people are building illegally is within the planning area of the Dong Hoi Industrial Park, which has been in place for over 10 years but has not yet been implemented. This has affected the people's feelings and aspirations, impacting their lives as the population grows while they are not allowed to subdivide land or build houses. This has also made the area a hotspot for illegal construction.
Mr. Thuan also stated that although local authorities have regularly disseminated information, the legal understanding of some people remains limited; people have a resentful attitude towards those who have built on their property before, so illegal construction still occurs.
Currently, the commune has established checkpoints, which, in addition to promptly preventing cases of illegal construction, also educate and encourage people to adhere to the planning regulations. This is because if illegal construction occurs within the planned area, people will suffer losses when relocation takes place as they will not receive compensation.
Regarding the handling of illegal constructions, Mr. Thuan informed that the local authorities have coordinated with the People's Committee of Hoang Mai town to issue decisions on handling violations within their jurisdiction. Currently, they are consolidating dossiers and handling easier cases first, before tackling more difficult ones.
It is clear that the local authorities are responsible for allowing illegal construction on agricultural and forestry land, as well as within the planned area of the Dong Hoi Industrial Park. If this situation is not resolved decisively, it will lead to many negative consequences, affecting future land clearance efforts and the integrity of the law.
