Lack of capital in settlement areas

(Baonghean) - After 8 years of implementing Decision 33 of the Government, many resettlement areas in our province are still unfinished, many households have not yet been moved to new residences.

The objective of the policy to support migration and sedentarization for ethnic minorities is to create conditions for ethnic minority households that still practice shifting cultivation and settlement to have stable housing, have sufficient conditions to develop production, improve material and spiritual life, eliminate hunger and reduce poverty; contribute to protecting forests, protecting the ecological environment and maintaining political security, social order and safety in localities.

Yen Na commune authorities, Tuong Duong district mobilize households at high risk of landslides to relocate to safe places.

There are two forms of settlement: concentrated and mixed. In the province, the Government approved 10/12 concentrated settlement projects (2 settlement projects were not implemented due to low feasibility) with a total investment of more than 191 billion VND. Of which, the central government supported nearly 61 billion VND; local capital and combined capital from other sources were more than 111 billion VND. For 33 mixed settlement sites, with a total investment of nearly 20 billion VND, of which the central government supported more than 18 billion VND; local capital and combined capital from other sources were 1,444 billion VND.

According to the data of the Provincial Ethnic Committee, up to this point, the implementation volume in the whole province has only reached 49.3% for the concentrated settlement project, with 245/497 households relocated to 5 locations. The mixed settlement project has been implemented at 29/33 locations, with 402/458 households resettled, reaching 88% of the plan.

Pung village, Luu Kien commune, one of two concentrated resettlement areas of Tuong Duong district. Mr. Vi Van Doan, the village chief, said that Pung village has 135 households, of which 51 households live scatteredly. The district and commune have mobilized 51 households to resettle in the Luu Son area since 2011. The lives of the people in the new settlement have been quite stable, with concrete roads connecting from National Highway 7, electricity, water facilities, schools, community cultural houses, etc. The people have been given land for farming. However, the road system within the village is very difficult, because the road surface is dirt, bumpy, and muddy. Meanwhile, the planning of the concentrated settlement project is for the internal village roads to be graded.

Traffic in Pung village is not yet paved, making it very difficult for people to travel.

Mr. Doan added: The remaining 84 households have been living without water for many years. The reason is that during the construction of the road to the new settlement, the main water pipe to the village was damaged. Currently, people have to contribute money to buy plastic pipes to get water from distant streams for daily use. However, during the rainy season, the water pipes are washed away, so people have to contribute money to repair them.

During the construction of the road to Luu Son settlement, the water pipeline of the Pung village community water project was damaged, causing the remaining 81 households to constantly lack water.

Mr. Tran Huu Duc - Head of the Rural Development Board of Que Phong District, said: The Pa Lau and Pa Chau resettlement project was approved by the Government with an investment of 16 billion VND. By 2013, all 50 households had moved to the project, but so far the capital provided by the State is too little, so many works serving the people's daily life have not been built. The national power grid project, including a transformer station and a low-voltage power line worth 10 billion VND, has so far only been provided with nearly 2 billion VND. Some other essential works, such as: Community water works, need to be upgraded; community house works have not been invested in; internal roads have not been invested in.

People settled in Luu Son area of ​​Pung village to develop goat farming, gradually stabilizing their lives.

According to the report of the Provincial Ethnic Committee, all 10 settlement projects in the localities are in the process of unfinished investment and construction.

Xuan Hoang