More information about the forest patrol road blocking to collect fees in Nghe An

In early June, after Nghe An Newspaper published an article titled “Blocking Forest Patrols to Collect Fees”, the authorities in Tan Ky District thoroughly inspected the field once again to reach a final conclusion. “We have previously conducted an inspection and have reached a conclusion. But then there were complaints, so now we have to continue to inspect and review to see if the conclusion is correct or not. That is why the case has not yet reached a final conclusion,” said Mr. Nguyen Van Thanh - Head of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of Tan Ky District.

According to the initial conclusion signed by Mr. Nguyen Van Hoa - Vice Chairman of Tan Ky District People's Committee, the issuance of the Land Use Right Certificate to Mr. Nguyen Tai Son was carried out according to the 1997 map measurement data, and the land allocation procedure file was in accordance with the provisions of the 2003 Land Law. "After checking the 2003 forestry map of the Protective Forest Management Board, this is not a legal map that has been inspected and accepted by the Department of Natural Resources and Environment. Therefore, there is no basis to confirm that there is a road passing through this land plot", the conclusion of Tan Ky District stated.

After being granted a red book by the government, Mr. Son blocked the road. Photo courtesy of Tien Hung

In addition, the district also said that through checking the cadastral records, the cadastral map measured in 1997, the cadastral map measured in 2013 and the forestry map in 2002 of Tan Ky town, there was no indication that there was a road passing through the land plot that had been granted a Land Use Rights Certificate to Mr. Nguyen Tai Son.

However, many local people as well as the Tan Ky Protective Forest Management Board disagree with this conclusion. They believe that this residential road has existed for a long time, and even the forestry map shows that there is a residential road. Regarding the fact that Tan Ky district believes that the 2003 forestry map of the Tan Ky Protective Forest Management Board was not accepted by the Department of Natural Resources and Environment, so there is no basis to confirm that there is a road, Mr. Dinh Van Hai - Director of the Tan Ky Protective Forest Management Board said that the district's conclusion is incorrect. Because this is a provincial planning, there is no need for the Department of Natural Resources and Environment to accept it.

Tan Ky Protective Forest Management Board stated that the land area for which Tan Ky District People's Committee granted a Land Use Right Certificate to Mr. Nguyen Tai Son in 2006 overlapped with forestry land. Meanwhile, the conclusion of Tan Ky District People's Committee stated that the forestry land area in the 2003 forestry map overlapped with Mr. Nguyen Tai Son's land plot, which was surveyed in 1997, and not that the government granted a Land Use Right Certificate that overlapped with the forestry land plot.

“The district is not accurate, because the forestry land was established in 1994 (measured in 2003) and the district's cadastral map was measured in 1997. The road was established even before that,” said Mr. Dinh Van Hai.

After being granted a Land Use Rights Certificate by the government, which was said to have "embraced" the residential road, Mr. Nguyen Tai Son's family built a gate, blocking this road, forcing households planting forests to pay a fee each time they passed. In 2013, Mrs. Tran Thi Ha's family and Mr. Nguyen Tai Son's wife had a road opening agreement confirmed by the block executive committee as well as the People's Committee of Tan Ky town. This document stated that Mrs. Ha's family paid Mr. Son 10 million VND in exchange for the road becoming a public road, allowing free travel. However, despite having an agreement and receiving the money, Mr. Son's family later "reneged" and continued to prevent people from entering the forest to take care of and protect the acacia forest.

After checking, Tan Ky district confirmed that this incident had occurred. However, the district did not handle it but assigned the People's Committee of Tan Ky town to work with the households to mediate. In case the citizens do not agree with the content of the road opening agreement, they have the right to file a lawsuit in court. To date, the incident has not been resolved, causing people to complain for a long time.

“In our opinion, the issuance of the Land Use Right Certificate to Mr. Son in 2006 was in accordance with the procedure, but it overlapped with a long-standing residential road. And blocking the road to collect fees is a violation,” Mr. Dinh Van Hai added.

Mr. Hai said that the current solution is to cancel the Land Use Rights Certificate that the government had issued to Mr. Son in 2006 and reissue it. “If the certificate is issued incorrectly, then reissue it, there is no problem. This is a common path, not an individual's, and one individual cannot affect many households.”

Although Tan Ky district insisted on having issued the correct Land Use Rights Certificate to Mr. Son, according to regulations, the government still has to consider reopening the road for people to enter the forest. Because according to Article 254 - Civil Code 2015 on the right of passage, the owner of real estate surrounded by real estate of other owners without or insufficient access to the public road, has the right to request the owner of the surrounding real estate to provide him with a reasonable passage on their land. The passage is opened on the adjacent real estate that is considered the most convenient and reasonable, taking into account the specific characteristics of the location, the benefits of the surrounded real estate and the least damage caused to the real estate with the passage....

Previously, Nghe An Newspaper had an article"Blocking forest patrol roads to collect fees".According to complaints from many households in Tan Ky town, for many years, Mr. Nguyen Tai Son has blocked the people's road, preventing them from entering the forest to take care of and protect it. Every time the acacia harvest season comes, they have to pay a large sum of money for trucks to transport acacia into the forest to exploit. People believe that this road has existed for a long time. The Tan Ky Protective Forest Management Board also affirmed that this is a forest patrol road that has existed for a long time. However, the government has granted Mr. Son a Land Use Rights Certificate to "cover" the entire road, which is the basis for him to block the road to collect fees. This is an illegal act, hindering forest rangers from patrolling as well as people from entering the forest to cultivate./.