Reclaiming agricultural and forestry land to arrange resettlement for Ban Mong project

(Baonghean.vn) – This is the policy affirmed by the provincial leaders at the working session of the Provincial People's Council's supervision delegation on compensation, site clearance and resettlement of the Ban Mong Reservoir Project in Quy Chau district.

The monitoring team learns about the proposed resettlement location in Chau Binh commune, Quy Chau. Photo: Thanh Duy

Quy Chau is a locality directly affected by the Ban Mong Reservoir project, including 5 communes and towns: Chau Binh, Chau Hoi, Chau Nga, Chau Hanh and Tan Lac town.

Up to now, Quy Chau district has carried out compensation, site clearance and handed over clean land with a rate of nearly 97% of the area for construction including items: auxiliary dam, drainage canal, lake channel to the investor.

To serve the project, according to the expected elevation of 78.51m, in Quy Chau district, there are 522 households subject to compensation, of which 370 households must be relocated.

To date, the amount of compensation and site clearance paid is 130 billion VND out of the total approved amount of nearly 142 billion VND.

60 households subject to relocation due to the sub-dam, drainage canal, and lake channel projects have been resettled.

Regarding resettlement work, Chairman of Quy Chau District People's Committee Ngo Duc Thuan said that the locality plans 7 resettlement areas and production areas with a total area of ​​838.5 hectares.

There are 2 resettlement planning areas including slope 77 (102 ha) and the waste dump area of ​​auxiliary dam 1 (13.7 ha) in Chau Binh commune. For production land, it is planned into 5 areas with a total area of ​​722.8 ha.

Comrade Le Hong Vinh - Member of the Standing Committee, Chairman of the Provincial Party Committee's Inspection Commission, Head of the Provincial People's Council's Economic - Budget Committee chaired the meeting. Photo: Thanh Duy

Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Dinh Viet Hong emphasized that the district's task is to focus on implementing resettlement work for the people and this is a continuous, long-term task to ensure stable lives for the affected people.

“The 5 production areas are located on agricultural and forestry land. I request the district to coordinate with relevant agencies to quickly complete the planning for approval by competent authorities to implement the next steps,” the Vice Chairman of the People’s Committee emphasized. Accordingly, the province is responsible for directing and the Departments of Agriculture and Rural Development and Natural Resources and Environment will advise the Provincial People’s Committee to properly implement regulations related to the recovery of agricultural and forestry land.

In December 2016, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development issued a document confirming the elevation of the main dam at 76.72m. The Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee requested the Project Management Board to soon announce the elevation and complete the measurement records of additional items and the reservoir area according to this elevation so that Quy Chau district has a basis to carry out the site clearance dossier.

Panoramic view of the headworks of the Ban Mong Reservoir Project. Photo courtesy

Sharing the complexity of site clearance, especially for large projects, Head of the Economic - Budget Committee, Provincial People's Council Le Hong Vinh highly appreciated the propaganda work of local Party committees and authorities and the consensus of people in Quy Chau.

The head of the monitoring team said that the most important thing now is for relevant agencies to confirm the elevation of 76.72m and soon hand over the landmark so that Quy Chau district can identify affected households in the reservoir area, especially those that must be relocated, to determine resettlement work.

“This issue requires close coordination between the investor, project management board, construction unit, local authorities, especially commune authorities to avoid re-encroachment of the site. I suggest that the investor must closely work with local authorities and that local authorities pay more attention after handing over the site,” the Head of the Economic - Budget Committee emphasized.

Paying special attention to the implementation of resettlement for affected households, comrade Le Hong Vinh requested Quy Chau district to properly and fully implement policies, consult the community in choosing locations; outline specific resettlement plans for people to participate and supervise.

Thanh Duy