The People's Committee of Do Luong District responds to the issue raised in the press.

(Baonghean)The Nghe An Newspaper, in its June 3, 2014 issue, under the "Hotline Information" section, reported: "Several households in Hong Son commune, Do Luong district, complained that in 1990, Hong Son commune allocated forest land to five households in Hamlet 8, Hong Son commune. In 1998, these households lent the land to Regiment 1, Division 324, to build a training ground. The training ground was not effective, and instead of returning the land to the households, the Chairman of the People's Committee of Hong Son commune, Do Luong district, leased the entire area of ​​forest land, for which the five households had been granted forest land certificates, to Mr. Cao Dang Minh for a period of 15 years. As a result, the people lost their agricultural land, and Mr. Minh illegally built a permanent house on the land previously allocated to the households by the People's Committee of the commune. Since then, the households have repeatedly filed lawsuits demanding the return of the land, but the matter remains unresolved."

On June 5, 2014, the People's Committee of Do Luong District issued Official Document No. 536/UBND-TTr with the following content:

First of all, while acknowledging that the citizen's claim is true, the citizen's statement that they have repeatedly filed lawsuits to reclaim the land without resolution is incorrect. The case has been and is being addressed under the direction of the Chairman of the People's Committee of Do Luong District, but due to its complexity and the significant value of the citizen's (Mr. Cao Dang Minh's) assets on the land, it cannot be resolved definitively in a short period of time. Specifically, the People's Committee of the district has been and is currently handling the matter.

1. Resolved results:

In June 2012, Mr. Nguyen Van Tuyen and Mr. Le Dinh Hop submitted a petition to the Chairman of the People's Committee of Do Luong District requesting a resolution regarding Mr. Cao Dang Minh, a resident of Hamlet 8, Hong Son Commune, who had illegally occupied their forest land to build a house. The Chairman of the People's Committee of Do Luong District then established a working group to verify the matter and advise on appropriate action.

In December 2012, the Chairman of the People's Committee of Do Luong District concluded:

The content of the petition from 5 households in hamlets 8 and 9, Hong Son commune, regarding Mr. Cao Dang Minh's illegal occupation and construction of houses on forest land allocated to households and individuals, is accurate.

The People's Committee of Hong Son commune has neglected its state management responsibilities regarding land in the area, allowing many households to build houses illegally without taking timely measures to prevent or handle the situation (including Mr. Cao Dang Minh's household).

+ The fact that Mr. Hoang Van Hai - former Chairman of the People's Committee of Hong Son commune - agreed to allow the construction of the house, which is equivalent to allowing the change of land use purpose, is contrary to the law. Regarding other architectural structures, Mr. Cao Dang Minh built them arbitrarily without the opinion of the state management agency, especially the main house he is currently using (built in 2011), which is a serious violation of the law on state land management.

The following actions will be taken to address the violations:

- Complete the procedures for imposing administrative penalties on Mr. Cao Dang Minh's household, Hamlet 8, Hong Son Commune, in accordance with the law;

- Seriously review and clarify the responsibilities of collectives and individuals in the lax management of land in the area, especially regarding the illegal construction of houses by households and individuals (including Mr. Cao Dang Minh's household).

- Initiate procedures to terminate the illegal land lease contract between the Hong Son Commune People's Committee and Mr. Cao Dang Minh's household. If Mr. Cao Dang Minh's household does not cooperate in the termination process, initiate procedures to submit to the District People's Committee for cancellation of the aforementioned contract.

+ Collect all outstanding payments that Mr. Cao Dang Minh currently owes to the People's Committee of the commune according to the signed contract.

+ Conduct mediation to resolve the land use dispute between the five households who submitted petitions and Mr. Cao Dang Minh's household. If mediation fails, guide the parties to submit their petitions to the Court for resolution within its jurisdiction.

Processing results:

- A review has been conducted of Mr. Hoang Van Hai, former Chairman of the People's Committee of Hong Son commune from 1995 to 2010 (now a party member without any official position), for the aforementioned violations.

- We have recovered all outstanding debts owed by Mr. Cao Đăng Minh to the People's Committee of Hồng Sơn commune.

Numerous attempts at mediation were made between the households, but all were unsuccessful.

- The households filed lawsuits, but after a period of review, the District People's Court returned the lawsuits because the documents provided by the households lacked sufficient legal grounds to initiate a case.

2. Currently being processed:

On April 21, 2014, after reviewing the resolution results of the Hong Son Commune People's Committee, the Do Luong District People's Committee issued Conclusion Notice No. 86/TB-UBND instructing the Chairman of the Hong Son Commune People's Committee to promptly terminate the contract with Mr. Cao Dang Minh and organize mediation between the landowners and Mr. Cao Dang Minh.

On June 2, 2014, the People's Committee of Hong Son commune, after working with Mr. Cao Dang Minh to negotiate the termination of the contract, but Mr. Cao Dang Minh did not accept, issued Notice No. 22/TB-UBND announcing the unilateral termination of the contract for the management and planting of production forests, with a contracted area of ​​2.3 hectares and a term of 15 years (from June 24, 2005) with Mr. Cao Dang Minh.

Currently, efforts are continuing to mediate between Mr. Cao Dang Minh and the households whose land is involved. These violations have been ongoing for a long time, with faults from multiple parties, including the households granted land use rights who failed to cultivate or manage their land, and the authorities at all levels, especially the Hong Son Commune People's Committee, who neglected land management. Citizens have constructed permanent structures for daily life, making a definitive resolution in a short period of time very difficult.

Based on the results achieved and the subsequent measures taken, it is evident that the People's Committee of Do Luong District has truly intervened to resolve the case and ensure the rights of citizens. However, the case is complex and has not been completely resolved, rather than remaining unresolved as the citizen has reported to your newspaper.

The People's Committee of Do Luong District reports this to the Editorial Board of Nghe An Newspaper and relevant authorities.

People's Committee of Do Luong District