Land dispute in Nghi Kieu (Nghi Loc): Lessons learned in management

(Baonghean) - Nghe An Newspaper received a petition from Mr. Nguyen Duc Kien, Nghi Kieu Commune (Nghi Loc) reporting that his family's land was encroached upon, but the commune's handling of the matter did not ensure the family's rights...

Mr. Kien's application stated: In 2003, he bought a plot of land under the valuation method in Hamlet 10a, and in 2006, he started building a house. In 2014, his family bought another plot of land next to Mr. Hoang Ba Thanh (residing in Hamlet 3, Nghi Kieu Commune) and was granted Land Use Rights Certificate No. BT 466721 by the Nghi Loc District People's Committee.

The family built a house and left a 16m2 plot of land (to the North). On November 2, 2015, Mr. Tran Van Dung's family built a house next door and encroached on his 16m2 plot. "After discovering the incident, he repeatedly petitioned the commune, but the commune did not resolve the matter and wanted to extend the time for Mr. Dung to build a house so that the encroachment could be successful. The commune deliberately distorted the truth and did not resolve the issue in accordance with the people's rights," said Mr. Kien.

Mr. Tran Van Dung's house has just finished the first floor.

According to the incident, in 2003, Nghi Loc District People's Committee organized the sale of land in the form of valuation with 10 plots of land in hamlet 10a, Nghi Kieu commune. Each plot has an area of ​​280m2 (width 14m, length 20m), lot number 1 has an area of ​​290m2. Mr. Kien bought lot number 9 and started building a house in 2006. Before building the house, Mr. Kien asked Mr. Hong (a cadastral officer of Nghi Kieu commune) to mark the boundary for his family. In 2014, Mr. Kien's family continued to buy lot number 8 from Mr. Hoang Ba Thanh (former Chairman of Nghi Kieu Commune People's Committee). Thus, the total area of ​​the 2 plots of land that Mr. Kien bought is 560m2. Currently, Mr. Kien's family has built a solid house on the area of ​​2 plots of land. Next to his house is lot number 7 of Mr. Tran Van Dung, the first floor has been completed and the flat roof is being poured.

As soon as Mr. Dung built the house, Mr. Kien submitted a request to the commune to suspend the construction because Mr. Dung encroached on his land. Mr. Kien said that when he built the house, he also deducted about 16 square meters adjacent to Mr. Dung's land to make windows. "Mr. Hong (a land officer of Nghi Kieu commune - PV) said that because I built the wrong boundary, the family's land to the south adjacent to lot number 10 still has 15.7 square meters left, not the extra land to the north, adjacent to Mr. Dung's house. But I confirm that the family's land is still extra to the north, adjacent to Mr. Dung's lot number 7. Mr. Hong saying that I built wrong is not true," Mr. Kien said. Through the discussion, Mr. Kien said that on the file of lot number 9 he bought from Mr. Thanh, the area is 280 square meters, but the current area is not enough. "I do business so I always need capital. If I want to sell this land in the future, it will be difficult because the area in the red book is 280 square meters, but in reality, it is not enough," Mr. Kien added.

The southern part of Mr. Kien's family's land that Nghi Kieu Commune People's Committee considers surplus land.

After receiving Mr. Kien's petition, the Commune People's Committee established a team to verify the incident. On November 6 and 9, 2015, the verification team conducted a field survey and worked with the family to clarify the content of the reflection. However, the commune could not verify the current situation because the family's landmarks were no longer kept. After that, the commune submitted a request to the district to check and re-measure the land area of ​​the families. On November 19, the Nghi Loc District Land Use Rights Registration Office came to re-measure and determine the boundaries of 10 plots of land.

Mr. Ho Van Ninh - Vice Chairman of Nghi Kieu Commune People's Committee said: Through measurement, it was discovered that Mr. Kien's family built a house in 2006 not in accordance with the location and boundary assigned by the district's Department of Natural Resources and Environment. Currently, to the south of lot 10, Mr. Kien's family has an excess of 15.7m2. Thus, the total area of ​​the 2 lots of land of Mr. Kien's family is still 560m2. Therefore, the complaint of Mr. Kien's family that Mr. Dung's family encroached on the land is incorrect.

There is no document to show whether Mr. Hong, the commune land officer, pointed out the correct boundary to Mr. Kien or not. According to Mr. Hong, to point out the boundary to his family, he based it on the plot division plan and the 2005 field land allocation record. “The boundary I pointed out was correct, but Mr. Kien did not build the right boundary. My mistake was that during the process of Mr. Kien building the house, I did not check or supervise, so I did not know about the incident. It was not until 2014, when Mr. Kien completed the procedures to transfer Mr. Thanh's land, that I discovered it,” said Mr. Hong.

In addition, Nghi Kieu commune also affirmed that in 2014, before the district People's Committee issued the land use right certificate for lot 9, the commune and Mr. Kien's family agreed to make a commitment that the family would not claim the full land area according to the records because part of the land was located in the old land that Mr. Kien's family used. Mr. Kien's family agreed to sign the commitment and on that basis, Nghi Loc district People's Committee issued the land use right certificate to the family. However, the commune government does not know where that commitment is now.

The flat roof of Mr. Dung's family encroaches on Mr. Kien's house by about 20cm.

There is no basis to confirm Mr. Kien's complaint that Mr. Dung's family encroached on 16 square meters of land. However, actual observations show that during the construction of the house, the flat roof of Mr. Dung's house on the first floor encroached on Mr. Kien's house by about 20 cm. When discovering the incident, Mr. Kien reported it to the commune and requested the commune to suspend Mr. Dung's construction. After that, the commune inspected and worked with the two families, but the incident has not been resolved.

Mr. Ho Van Ninh - Vice Chairman of Nghi Kieu Commune People's Committee said: Mr. Dung's construction of a flat roof encroaching on Mr. Kien's house was wrong. The commune has worked with the family and agreed that after the flat roof is dry, Mr. Dung's family will be asked to trim it. As for Mr. Kien's stubborn refusal to accept the commune's solution, he can file a petition to a higher level for resolution.

Having contacted the relevant documents and records, it can be said that Nghi Kieu Commune People's Committee has been proactive in resolving citizens' petitions. Regarding the incident of Mr. Dung building a roof encroaching on Mr. Kien's land, Nghi Kieu Commune People's Committee needs to request Mr. Dung to make a cut, to avoid the incident from prolonging and causing instability in the local situation.

Through this incident, Nghi Kieu Commune People's Committee needs to seriously learn from experience in managing and allocating land to subjects in accordance with the records as well as the current situation. For Mr. Kien's family, because of frustration with the attitude of the commune officials, continuing to escalate the situation is not advisable. Because when the family agreed to receive 15.7m2 to the South, the total area of ​​his 2 plots of land was still fully granted, which is 560m2, in accordance with the land allocation records. Therefore, Mr. Kien needs to have a goodwill attitude so that the matter can be resolved soon./.

Pham Bang