Nghi Lien commune needs to learn from its experience in land management.

(Baonghean)In a letter sent to the Nghe An newspaper, Mr. Lam Huu Minh and his wife, Nguyen Thi Dao, residing in Hamlet 18B, Nghi Lien Commune, Vinh City, alleged that the Nghi Lien Commune People's Committee had arbitrarily cut off two plots of land belonging to their family for sale. To clarify the content of the complaint, we directly investigated the matter.

Meeting with us, Mr. Minh and Mrs. Dao said: “In 1986, with permission from the Nghi Lien Commune People's Committee, our family was allocated land in the area we had previously reclaimed (now belonging to Hamlet 18B, Nghi Lien Commune - PV). In 1993, the State issued a Certificate of Land Use Rights for our plot of land with a usable area of ​​1,100m2, but only now do we know that our garden is over 2,000m2. In May 2004, the commune's land cadastral officer came and allocated a 400m2 plot to Mr. Trinh Trong Duong in the north, and then allocated a 348.5m2 plot to Ms. Lam Thi Tien in the south. Both plots of land are within the boundaries of our garden.”

In a discussion with us regarding this matter, Mr. Vo Dinh Hoang, Vice Chairman of the Nghi Lien Commune People's Committee, stated: The land belonging to Mr. Minh and Mrs. Dao's family borders vacant land and ponds. During their time living there, the couple planted trees and expanded their property. Between 1991 and 2001, the area reached 1,700 square meters. From 2002 to the present, Mr. Minh has continued to expand, bringing the total area to 2,000 square meters.

The land that Mr. Minh and Mrs. Dao claimed belonged to them.

Convinced that the commune did not seize land from Mr. Minh and Ms. Dao's family for sale, Mr. Luong Ngoc Ty, a land cadastral officer of Nghi Lien commune, stated: In 2003, the Nghi Loc District People's Committee approved the land use plan for mixed residential land, dividing it into plots for two households, Mr. Trinh Trong Duong and Ms. Lam Thi Tien, within the land managed by the commune People's Committee. Mr. Duong was allocated an area of ​​400m2, including 200m2 of garden land and 200m2 of residential land (belonging to Map Sheet 19, plot number 02) in Hamlet 18B, bordered to the North by unused land, to the South by Ms. Dao's land, to the East by a planned canal, and to the West by Mr. Dich's house. Ms. Lam Thi Tien was allocated an area of ​​384m2, including 200m2 of residential land and 184m2 of garden land (belonging to Map Sheet 19, plot number 02) in Hamlet 18B, bordered to the North by Mr. Minh's house (Ms. Dao), to the South by Mr. Dan's house, to the East by a planned canal, and to the West by Mr. Xoan's house.

The families of Mr. Duong and Mrs. Tien are two of the 94 households that were allocated land and granted land use right certificates by the Nghi Loc District People's Committee according to Decision No. 1094 QD/UB of the Nghi Loc District People's Committee dated October 29, 2004. However, according to the 1991 survey map currently used by Nghi Lien commune, the family of Mr. Minh and Mrs. Dao was allocated plot number 40, sheet number 20, with an area of ​​1,100m2. The Nghi Lien commune land register clearly states that Mrs. Nguyen Thi Dao, Hamlet 18B, Nghi Lien, was granted land use right certificate number 1454, dated January 25, 1993, plot number 40, sheet number 20, with a residential land area of ​​150m2 and a garden land area of ​​950m2. The land register also clearly states that Mrs. Nguyen Thi Dao's household has a total area of ​​1,100m2 of residential and garden land. Mr. Ty added that in 2008, the Nghi Loc District People's Committee reissued the land use right certificate to Ms. Dao because previously (in 1993) it was mistakenly recorded as Giao, with the land area remaining at 1,100m2.

Mr. Minh mistakenly believed his land area was approximately 2000m2, because, in addition to the 1100m2 allocated to him, his family has been using plot 46, with an area of ​​569m2, recorded in the land register as land managed by the Commune People's Committee, and the northern part of the plot. Mr. Vo Dinh Hoang further affirmed: There was no land allocation to the two families of Mr. Duong and Ms. Tien on the land belonging to Ms. Dao's family. Because after deducting the land area of ​​the two families, Ms. Dao's family still has 1200-1300m2 (ensuring sufficient area of ​​1100m2 as stated in the land use right certificate - PV).

We learned that Hamlet 18B was established after the commune's planning, so the land allocation policy in 1986-1988 was a maximum of 500m2 per household. Mr. Dao Duc Loc, whose house is opposite the entrance to Mr. Minh and Mrs. Dao's house, said: "My family lived here in 1988. At that time, there were only about 5-7 houses, and this area was mainly inhabited by tobacco factory workers. The average land allocation per household was 400m2. Mrs. Dao's family also lived here at that time, but in the outer wetland area, so they expanded their land. The commune has checked and remeasured this many times."

Mr. Minh and Mrs. Dao's family were granted a Certificate of Land Use Rights in 1993, plot number 40, with an area of ​​1,100m2, based on the 1991 survey map of Nghi Lien commune.

Sharing Mr. Loc's view, Mr. Nguyen Xuan Son, head of Hamlet 18B, said: "Most families in the hamlet who moved here after 1987 were allocated 400m2 of land. My family moved here in 1988, with an allocated area of ​​500m2. Mrs. Dao's family's land area in 1991, which reached 1,100m2, was due to expansion, as this is a wetland area. It's possible that the area beyond 1,100m2 was further expanded by Mrs. Dao's family after the survey and issuance of the land certificate." We then met with several more residents of Hamlet 18B, and they all confirmed that this is a new village, with the land allocated by the state to households being around 500m2. They also stated that Mr. Minh and Mrs. Dao's family owning such a large plot of land is due to self-expansion during their use of the land.

Therefore, it can be said that the two plots of land allocated by the Nghi Loc District People's Committee to the family of Mr. Trinh Trong Duong and Ms. Lam Thi Tien are entirely outside the 1,100m2 of land for which Ms. Nguyen Thi Dao's family has been granted a land use right certificate. Furthermore, Mr. Minh and Ms. Dao's claim that "only now do I know that my garden has an area of ​​over 2,000m2" is completely unfounded, because in reality, their land use right certificate was issued in 1993 with an area of ​​1,100m2. Since then, their family has not raised any objections. Currently, Mr. Minh and Ms. Dao's land use area is still sufficient according to the certificate, and they have no documents proving that the land allocated to Mr. Duong and Ms. Tien belongs to them.

This incident highlights the need for Nghi Lien commune to learn from its experience in land management, preventing residents from arbitrarily expanding or encroaching on land, in order to avoid similar incidents in the future. Simultaneously, it is crucial to clearly explain the situation to all relevant parties and resolve the issue definitively, preventing prolonged disputes.

Text and photos: Dang Nguyen