The case of a tea factory owner illegally converting thousands of square meters of agricultural land: Signs of covering up violations?

Report No. 36/BC-UBND dated February 15, 2022 ofThanh Mai Commune People's Committeeas follows: "Implementing Official Dispatch No. 174/UBND-TNMT dated January 25, 2022 of Thanh Chuong District People's Committee, on handling administrative violations of land in Thanh Mai commune specifically as follows:

1. The People's Committee of the commune has established a working group to inspect, verify and handle land violations against Mr. Le Van Thong's household. Through inspection, it was discovered that:

Mr. Le Van Thong, address Truong Son hamlet (old Nam Son hamlet), arbitrarily leveled the ground and tied the foundation on agricultural land with an area of ​​2,733.4 square meters, at the location of Quang Sim hamlet Truong Son. The area where Mr. Le Van Thong leveled the ground and tied the foundation was basically within the area of ​​the old factory. He had built a factory on this area before 2016, but now due to deterioration, he had to dismantle it to upgrade it (his factory was established in 2007).

The area where the owner of the Traditional Tea Processing Factory illegally converted the land use purpose is all red soil, clearly showing that it has just been leveled. Photo: PVPL Group

Regarding the origin of Mr. Le Van Thong's land, it is agricultural land allocated according to Decree 64/ND/CP, a part of which he received in conversion from 5 other households (according to the family's agreement to convert).

The working group has drawn up a working record and requested the immediate suspension of all activities related to construction activities on the above land.

2. On January 28, 2022, the Commune People's Committee continued to work with Mr. Le Van Thong. At the meeting, Mr. Le Van Thong made a commitment to the Commune People's Committee that he would absolutely not upgrade or do anything related to construction activities on the above land. If there is any violation, he will take full responsibility before the law.

Above is the Report on the results of handling violations of illegal construction on agricultural land for Mr. Le Van Thong's household so that the District People's Committee can know and direct the handling and resolution.

In reality, the reporter of Nghe An Newspaper in the process of checking the current status of the land of the owner of the Traditional Tea Processing Factory had committed violations; at the same time, through grasping relevant information and documents, it was found that Report No. 36/BC-UBND of the People's Committee of Thanh Mai Commune showed an excuse for Mr. Le Van Thong, a lack of honesty with the superior agency.

The first,The report of Thanh Mai Commune People's Committee on the origin of the land that Mr. Le Van Thong received is incomplete. Specifically, in addition to the agricultural land that Mr. Le Van Thong was assigned according to Decree 64/ND/CP, a part of it was converted from 5 other households (according to the family's agreement to convert) as reported by the Commune People's Committee, there is also"expanding part of the unused land area".

Verification of land origin in the Working Minutes of Thanh Mai Commune People's Committee on January 26, 2022. Photo: PVPL Group

Content"expanding part of the unused land area"shown right in the inspection record of the Working Group of Thanh Mai Commune People's Committee carried out after the direction of Thanh Chuong District People's Committee in Official Dispatch 174/UBND-TNMT (Minutes of the working group on the verification of Mr. Le Van Thong, leveling the ground to illegally build a foundation tie on agricultural land, carried out at 2:00 p.m. on January 26, 2022).

Furthermore, the origin of the land that Thanh Mai Commune People's Committee reported was only within the area where the Traditional Tea Processing Factory had tied the foundation. In reality, the area outside the location where the foundation was tied was also filled with soil and leveled by Mr. Le Van Thong, which is not small.

Outside the scope of the foundation tie, the area where the owner of the Traditional Tea Processing Factory filled the soil and leveled the ground is quite large. Photo: PVPL Group

In fact, this report of Thanh Mai Commune People's Committee is completely based on the opinion of the violator (included in two working minutes of Thanh Mai Commune People's Committee with Mr. Le Van Thong on January 26-28, 2022).

Meanwhile, when asked by Nghe An Newspaper reporters, people in Truong Son hamlet (whose houses are near the Traditional Tea Processing Factory) confirmed that this land was agricultural land for growing rice before being leveled. They said: “This location used to have some rice fields and swamps. People still grew rice there. Mr. Thong organized motorbikes to dump the soil for quite a long time, affecting the lives of many households in the hamlet, but because they were afraid of being touched, no one spoke out publicly…”.

The area where the owner of the Traditional Tea Processing Factory illegally changed the land use purpose. Photo: PVPL Group

More importantly, an officer of Truong Son hamlet, when asked about the condition of the land before the leveling, also confirmed that it was agricultural land, with some rice fields and swamps. He even confirmed: “Before the owner of the Traditional Tea processing factory filled the land, there was no construction there…”.

Therefore, with the above content and the fact that Thanh Mai Commune People's Committee has not yet taken any disciplinary action against violators, it is necessary for Thanh Chuong District People's Committee to investigate and clarify. From there, handle the land violations of the owner of the Traditional Tea Processing Factory in accordance with the law; at the same time, rectify the working attitude of relevant officials in this commune.

Nghe An Newspaper will continue to verify and inform about this incident.