What does Que Phong district say about the post-resettlement issue of Hua Na Hydropower Plant?

A resettlement area of ​​Hua Na Hydropower Plant. Photo courtesy

In Document No. 1249/UBND-HN, Que Phong District People's Committee informed: The Hua Na Hydropower Construction Project was permitted for investment by the Prime Minister in Document No. 129/TTg dated January 19, 2006.

Document of Que Phong District People's Committee responding to Nghe An Newspaper about issues in Hua Na Hydropower project. Photo: Nhat Lan

Hua Na Hydropower Plant has a designed capacity of 180MW; the total investment according to the adjusted approval (3rd time) is over 7,092 billion VND, with Hua Na Hydropower Joint Stock Company as the investor; is a project within the key program of socio-economic development and power safety of the country in general and Nghe An province in particular.

Hua Na Hydropower Dam and Reservoir. Photo: Nhat Lan

The project started construction on September 28, 2008 in Dong Van commune, Que Phong district, Nghe An province. The construction process affected 14 villages in the reservoir area of ​​Dong Van and Thong Thu communes, with 1,362 households/5,236 people having to relocate and resettle, and built 13 resettlement sites in Dong Van, Thong Thu and Tien Phong communes. By July 2012, all affected households had been relocated; by July 2012, water was stored, and by February 2013, the plant officially generated electricity.

Regarding the backlog and problems in compensation, support and resettlement at the Hua Na Hydropower Project mentioned in Nghe An Electronic Newspaper through the articles "Post-resettlement of Hua Na hydropower plant: The road is long and the pain is still long…” posted on September 16, 2019; and the article: “It is necessary to ensure fairness for households in the resettlement area of ​​Hua Na Hydropower Plant.” posted on September 26, 2019.

Studying these two articles, Que Phong District People's Committee found that the contents reflected by Nghe An Newspaper were completely accurate and objective.

Officials of Pieng Van village (Huoi Cha La resettlement site) representing the people confirmed the petition to resolve the backlog in the Hua Na Hydropower project. Photo: Nhat Lan

Along with Document No. 1249/UBND-HN, Que Phong District People's Committee also sent Document No. 1246/UBND-HN issued on September 30, 2019.on issues related to compensation, support and resettlement at Hua Na Hydropower Project.

In which information: VOn September 26, 2019, the Provincial People's Committee held a meeting to listen to and give opinions on how to calculate and deduct the difference in land use right value between the recovered land at the departure location and the allocated land at the resettlement site of the Hua Na Hydropower Project. The conclusion of the Provincial People's Committee at this meeting was to assign the Department of Natural Resources and Environment to send a document to ask for opinions from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.

The People's Committee of Que Phong district has two requests to the Provincial People's Committee: Before the Provincial People's Committee signs the document asking for comments from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, it should allow the People's Committee of Que Phong district to give comments on the draft document; if the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment requests to work and explain, it is recommended that the Provincial People's Committee allow the People's Committee of Que Phong district and the Compensation, Support and Resettlement Council of the Hua Na Hydropower Project to participate in the work.

Nghe An Newspaper reporters grasp information about the backlog and problems in compensation, support and resettlement of Hua Na Hydropower project. Photo: Document

Regarding the method of calculating and deducting the difference in land use value between the recovered land at the departure location and the land allocated at the resettlement site of the Hua Na Hydropower Project, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment has sent a document requesting the General Department of Land Management (Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment) for guidance.

On August 14, 2019, the General Department of Land Administration issued Document No. 1549/TCQLĐ Đ-CKTPQĐ citing regulations for the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of Nghe An to report to the People's Committee of Nghe An province for direction and implementation as follows:

"According to the provisions of Clause 2, Article 74 of the 2013 Land Law, compensation is provided by allocating land with the same purpose as the recovered land. If there is no land for compensation, compensation will be made in cash according to the specific land price of the recovered land type decided by the Provincial People's Committee at the time of the land recovery decision.

The determination of land use purposes of the recovered land type is based on the provisions of Article 10 and Article 111 of the Land Law; Article 3, Decree No. 43/2014/ND-CP dated May 15, 2014 of the Government detailing the implementation of a number of articles of the Land Law.

According to the provisions of Clause 5, Article 5, Decision No. 64/2014/QD-TTg dated November 18, 2014 of the Prime Minister stipulating specific policies on migration and resettlement of irrigation and hydropower projects, the handling of the difference in land value at the departure and destination is as follows: If the value of the allocated agricultural land is lower than the value of the recovered land, the resettled household will be compensated for the difference in value...".

Rice fields of people in the Huoi Cha La resettlement area. Photo: Nhat Lan

The guidance of the General Department of Land Administration on how to calculate and deduct the difference in land use right value between the departure and destination places was also informed by Nghe An Newspaper in articles published on September 16 and 26, 2019.