Because of land issues… officials are lost.

Lessons in land management

In fact, recently, quite a number of officials and Party members have been prosecuted, detained, brought to court, sentenced, or subjected to disciplinary measures by the Party and government due to their involvement in these issues.violations in land management and use, carrying out land clearance compensation.

For example, in early 2021, the Investigation Police Department (Nghe An Provincial Police) issued a decision to initiate criminal proceedings and indict three individuals residing in Nghi Tien commune (Nghi Loc district) for abusing their positions and authority while performing their official duties. These included Mr. Luu Quang Thuong (born in 1954), former Chairman of the Nghi Tien Commune People's Committee from 2004 to 2014, and Mr. Tran Cong Oanh (born in 1960), former Secretary of the Nghi Tien Commune Party Committee from 2005 to 2014 and Chairman of the Nghi Tien Commune People's Committee from 2014 to 2020.

Tran Cong Oanh, Luu Quang Thuong, and Nguyen Van Hong have been charged with "abusing their positions and authority while performing their official duties." Photo: Vuong Linh

The reason is that during their tenure, Mr. Thuong and Mr. Oanh authorized Mr. Nguyen Van Hong (born in 1980), a former land administration official of the commune, to falsify documents requesting compensation for aquaculture areas damaged by natural disasters and compensation for crop damage caused by rain and floods, thereby withdrawing over 805 million VND from the state budget. The actual amount paid to affected households based on actual losses was approximately 83 million VND. The remaining over 722 million VND was used for other activities without proper documentation. The case is currently under investigation by the authorities.

Police officers searched the home of Tran Cong Oanh, former Party Secretary and Chairman of the People's Committee of Nghi Tien commune, Nghi Loc district. Photo: Vuong Linh

Previously, in several other localities, there have also been cases where former key leaders were disciplined for involvement in the illegal sale of land, such as in Nghia Dong, Nghia Thai (Tan Ky), My Thanh (Yen Thanh)... Or violations in the preparation of documents and compensation for land clearance projects, such as the case of former Chairman of Nghi Phong Commune People's Committee (Nghi Loc) Nguyen Dinh Hai and several other officials who were disciplined for their actions during the land clearance process for the 72m Vinh-Cua Lo Boulevard passing through the area. When implementing this project, the Nghi Phong Commune People's Committee (Nghi Loc) conducted a review, issued new land titles, and allocated land to affected households.

The Vinh - Cua Lo Boulevard project. Photo courtesy of Thao Nguyen.

However, in many cases, the Nghi Phong commune authorities incorrectly identified the origin of land use and the increase/decrease in land area to obtain new land use right certificates. The responsibility lies with the former Chairman of the Nghi Phong Commune People's Committee, Nguyen Dinh Hai, and several related officials. In another case involving irregularities in compensation for land clearance for the Nghi Kim - Nghi Van drainage canal project (phase 1), officials including Vo Bien Thuy - former Deputy Director of the Vinh City Land Fund Development Center; Tran Le Ngoc Tu - former land cadastral officer of Hung Dong commune (later transferred to Hong Son ward); and Nguyen Xuan Tho - former Chairman of the Hung Dong Commune People's Committee, were prosecuted.

Notably, in some cases, multiple officials were involved, forming a "team." A prime example is the irregularities at the Yen Thanh Protective Forest Management Board. To receive additional compensation for land-related assets that were not accounted for in the accounting books, Phan Tien Sy, the former Head of the Yen Thanh Protective Forest Management Board, instructed his subordinates to create four fraudulent files to receive over 5 billion VND in compensation in violation of regulations. Ten defendants were brought to trial in connection with this case, with the longest sentence being 5 years in prison and the shortest being 15 months of suspended imprisonment. Among them were Nguyen Duc Thien and Phan Van Minh, former Head and Deputy Head of the Natural Resources and Environment Department of Yen Thanh district.

Defendant Phan Tiến Sỹ - Former Head of the Yên Thành Protective Forest Management Board and his accomplices at the trial. Photo: Trần Vũ

These incidents serve not only as costly lessons in state management of land resources and public assets, but also as valuable lessons in the management, education, and control of officials and civil servants.

Besides the inconsistencies in land management policies between the Land Law and related laws, the lack of regular inspections and detection of violations in land management and use, insufficient penalties for violations of land laws, and loopholes in land management by various levels of government, as well as wasteful land use in some areas, creating opportunities for corruption and profiteering, there are also contributing factors such as a lack of self-cultivation and self-transformation among some officials and civil servants.

Tighten management

Through the handling of citizen complaints and denunciations, it has been observed that land is the root cause of many protracted disputes and complaints (accounting for 70-80% of annual lawsuits). To strengthen management and prevent violations in this field, Nghe An province has implemented many solutions in recent years to overcome shortcomings and limitations in land management and use. Notable among these are the intensified implementation of the 2013 Land Law and its guiding documents; the promotion of information technology application in land management; the enhancement of awareness, responsibility, and public service ethics among officials and civil servants; and the resolute handling of violations.

Land Law of 2013. Image from the Internet.

Furthermore, on March 13, 2020, the People's Committee of Nghe An province issued Official Document No. 1359/UBND-NN on "inspecting, reviewing, and strengthening land management" in the province. This document requested the Departments of Natural Resources and Environment, Finance, Planning and Investment, Construction, and Justice; and the People's Committees of districts, cities, and towns to inspect, review, and strengthen land management in Nghe An province. Simultaneously, it called for promoting the dissemination and education of the Land Law through various forms suitable to each locality, each target group of management officials at all levels, and each land user; effectively implementing the "Improving Land Use Efficiency Project for the period 2017-2020 in Nghe An Province". It also emphasized the importance of effectively preparing approved land use plans and schemes at all levels...

The document also requested enhanced coordination among departments, agencies, and district-level People's Committees in attracting investment, managing investment projects, and managing urban land, promptly resolving difficulties and obstacles to help investors use land legally and effectively. Simultaneously, it called for the detection and timely handling of violations in land management and illegal land use conversion in the area; enhancing the responsibility of local authorities, especially key officials and land administration, construction, and urban order management officials at the commune level; rectifying land encroachment, illegal land use conversion, construction violating planning or permits; resolving obstacles in compensation and land clearance; issuing new and renewed land use right certificates; and focusing on resolving land disputes, complaints, denunciations, and petitions, especially complex, protracted, and escalated cases.

In addition, the Provincial Party Committee and the Provincial People's Committee have also strengthened their direction to promote the fight against corruption, enhance inspections in the field of land management; and strictly handle the responsibility of heads of departments if violations in the field of land management occur.

In 2020 alone, inspections uncovered violations and recommended corrective actions totaling 20,564 square meters.²land, of which 1,404 m² is proposed to be reclaimed.² land. As a result, 1,305/1,404 m² has been recovered for the State.²The land utilization rate reached 92.95%.

However, according to the Provincial Steering Committee for Anti-Corruption, the recovery of assets from land-related irregularities faces many limitations. After being sold, exchanged, or illegally allocated to households, most land has already been granted land use rights certificates or used for constructing large-scale structures for stable residence and long-term cultivation. Recovering the land would cause significant losses to the people, making the recovery of illegally allocated or sold land impossible. Furthermore, the defendants, who are often village or commune officials, mostly used the proceeds from land allocation, sale, and leasing for the construction of public welfare projects. While some defendants have repaid the money after being prosecuted, most face economic hardship, making asset recovery in these cases difficult.

One of the plots of land illegally sold by the leaders of My Thanh commune (Yen Thanh district). (Photo: Archival image)

Therefore, in addition to focusing on reviewing and abolishing, amending, and supplementing legal documents on land under the authority of the Provincial People's Committee, it is also recommended that the Government and central ministries and agencies consider amending and supplementing inadequate and problematic regulations in land management as requested in Official Letter No. 1359/UBND-NN of the Provincial People's Committee. Functional agencies and localities need to strengthen self-inspection, supervision, and prevention of violations in the field of land; resolutely handle and remove from the system those officials and civil servants who abuse their assigned responsibilities and powers, engage in harassment, corruption, and profiteering in resolving issues related to land and compensation for land clearance. At the same time, establish a feasible, open, and transparent mechanism so that people can truly monitor the management and use of land.

The crime of violating regulations on land management is specifically stipulated in Articles 228 and 229 of the 2015 Penal Code. In particular, individuals who take advantage of or abuse their position and authority in allocating, reclaiming, leasing, permitting the transfer of land use rights, or permitting the change of land use purpose contrary to the law fall into one of the following cases: Rice cultivation land with an area of ​​70,000 square meters (m²).²) or more; special-use forest land, protection forest, production forest with an area of ​​100,000 square meters (m); special-use forest land, protection forest, production forest with an area of ​​100,000 square meters (m);²) or more; other agricultural land and non-agricultural land with an area of ​​80,000 square meters (m);²) or more; or land with a land use right value converted into money of VND 7,000,000,000 or more for agricultural land or VND 15,000,000,000 or more for non-agricultural land may be subject to imprisonment from 5 to 12 years.

Offenders may also be fined from VND 10,000,000 to VND 150,000,000, prohibited from holding office, or prohibited from practicing a certain profession or doing a certain job for 1 to 5 years.