Building New Rural Areas - Determined to reach the finish line on schedule.

(Baonghean) - Of the 85 communes registered to achieve the New Rural Area (NRA) status in Nghe An in 2015, six have already achieved the goal (three communes have been officially recognized, and three communes have completed the assessment and are awaiting a decision). According to regulations, November 30th is the deadline for finalizing NRA recognition dossiers annually. With 79 communes yet to be recognized, the remaining time is quite short, requiring significant effort.

Efforts for each criterion

One of the most outstanding advantages of the communes registering to achieve the New Rural Area (NRA) status in 2015 is their determined "initiative." Hung Thong commune (Hung Nguyen district) is completing the final criteria to prepare its dossier for submission to the district and province. Mr. Hoang Van Soa, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Hung Thong commune, said: Starting with only 10 criteria, the commune has now basically completed the required items and, if nothing changes, will receive the Certificate of Recognition in early September. The most difficult criterion during implementation was transportation, but the commune is waiting for sufficient cement to complete the remaining road sections. Two other items being focused on are cultural infrastructure and the title of "Cultural Hamlet." To qualify, along with renovating the central stadium of the commune, it was agreed that Hamlet 1 would hold a meeting to select a location for the construction of the hamlet's cultural center, and at the same time, focus would be placed on directing another hamlet to achieve the title of Cultural Village. It can be said that, despite being a poor, purely agricultural commune, the mobilization of nearly 170 billion VND in total investment for rural development, with the people contributing over 30%, is a remarkable effort.

With cement provided by the government, Dien Dong commune (Dien Chau district) built 3.8 km of concrete road in 6 months.

Hung Tay commune (Hung Nguyen district) faced many difficulties in building new rural areas. Due to its unique geographical location as a Catholic area, with a large natural area but limited resources, the commune managed to mobilize over 3 billion VND in the first six months of the year to build six village cultural centers, each costing an average of 500 million VND. With over 1,000 tons of cement provided by the State, the commune has completed over 30 km out of 47 km of concrete roads and is awaiting cement to complete the remaining 17 km. In July, the commune commenced construction of a kindergarten (facility 2) worth nearly 9 billion VND. According to the Vice Chairman of the Commune People's Committee, Mr. Le Dinh Ty, 11 out of 26 villages have Catholic residents, making it challenging to mobilize resources from the people. However, to date, the commune has exceeded its road construction targets and aims to build two more cultural centers this year. If the province provides enough cement to meet the needs (the commune needs about 3,500 tons, but has only been allocated 1,800 tons), then the commune will achieve the New Rural Area status on schedule…

In 2015, Hung Nguyen district had 6 communes registered to achieve the New Rural Area (NRA) status. To support these communes, in addition to the district's mechanism allowing communes registered to achieve NRA status to receive 60% of the land use right auction funds, disadvantaged communes or those in special areas also received additional support from the district. Specifically, Hung Tay commune received support from the district for the construction of village cultural houses, with each village receiving 50-70 million VND; Hung Phu commune received 200 million VND for the construction of a sports stadium… To date, 3 communes, Hung Thong, Hung Xa, and Hung Phuc, have basically ensured progress; the 3 more disadvantaged communes, Hung Thang, Hung Phu, and Hung Tay, are striving to achieve the NRA status by the end of this year.

In Dien Chau district, although it has the highest number of communes registered to achieve the New Rural Area (NRA) status in the province with 14 communes, the district has not yet established a separate mechanism for these communes. All resources are allocated and integrated through annual programs and projects. Deputy Head of the District Agriculture Department, Tran Hoai An, shared: "Investment resources for the NRA are limited, so the pressure on the locality to achieve NRA status this year is quite high. To date, thanks to regular reviews, the district has 'mapped out' the roadmap for each locality to achieve the goal. Based on inspections and reviews, six communes have basically completed the criteria: Dien Thanh, Dien Phong, Dien Tho, Dien Loc, Dien Hoa, and Dien Ky. The district is currently guiding them in preparing the necessary documents and procedures for assessment. The remaining eight communes face more difficulties, and based on the inspection and assessment of their current situation, the district will continue to divide them into two groups to provide more practical and specific guidance..."

According to Mr. Ngo Quang Trung, Vice Chairman of Dien Xuan Commune: Of the four remaining criteria, construction of the commune headquarters began at the start of the year, and preparations are underway for the construction of the health station, costing over 4 billion VND. Currently, the commune is continuing to seek solutions to address criteria 6 and 15, which involve planning the area for village cultural centers and school grounds, in order to submit them to the competent authorities for recognition. Meanwhile, despite his strong determination, Mr. Truong Van Hoa, Chairman of the People's Committee of Dien Dong Commune, admitted: With the lack of funding for the construction of cultural facilities and a health station worth nearly 20 billion VND, it will be very difficult for the commune to achieve the New Rural Area (NRA) goal on time. Nevertheless, the commune remains determined to improve the quality of each criterion.

"Resolving the challenges" regarding cement and land availability.

One of the biggest difficulties significantly affecting the progress towards achieving the New Rural Area (NRA) goals is the cement supply issue. According to the plan, in 2015, the province will supply nearly 88,900 tons of cement to communes, averaging enough for each commune to build 6 km of road (in lowland areas) and 8 km in mountainous areas. The first phase of 2015 (April) saw the province supply 50,000 tons, and the second phase, scheduled for October, is expected to supply 38,900 tons. Of the 2,300 tons of cement awaiting the second phase as planned by Hung Nguyen district, Hung Thong commune is still short 300 tons. Similarly, Hung Tay commune has only received 1,000 tons, still lacking over 800 tons compared to the plan and approximately 2,000 tons compared to the actual need (the commune requested about 3,500 tons). With the remaining transportation criteria, it can be said that whenever the commune receives enough cement, it will reach its target.

Comrade Le Dinh Ty, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Hung Tay commune, said: "For agricultural and rural areas like Hung Tay, cement supply is not only necessary to be sufficient but also to be timely, when farmers are idle, so that implementation is quick and effective. Right now, if we had cement, the commune could complete 100% of its roads according to the New Rural Development standards." The New Rural Development Coordination Office of Hung Nguyen district stated: "Along with the issue of insufficient cement supply, one of the reasons affecting the progress of rural road construction in Hung Nguyen is that cement transportation to communes and villages is often quite slow or delivered during the rainy season, making it difficult for people to wait and store."

Comrade Truong Van Hoa, Chairman of the People's Committee of Dien Dong commune (Dien Chau district), said that the commune has never had such an opportunity to concrete 100% of its rural roads as it does now. After being persuaded, the people have agreed and are ready to contribute 1 million VND per person to build the roads. In reality, the commune registered for 2,600 tons of cement but only received a plan of 1,200 tons from the province. With the 600 tons allocated in the first phase of 2015, the commune organized the people to build 3.8 km, and many sections have been cleared and are waiting for cement to arrive to continue. However, due to the lack of cement, construction has had to stop…

Regarding this issue, Mr. Nguyen Ho Lam, Chief of the Office of the Provincial New Rural Development Coordination Board, stated: The deadline for achieving the New Rural Development goals is very tight; localities must ensure both the progress of projects and the adherence to procedures. In 2015, despite the province's limited budget, the province not only provided cement to communes that had achieved the goals but also allocated it to other communes. Given the high demand for cement in localities, at the meeting to implement tasks for the last six months of the year, the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee issued a concluding statement affirming that resources would be balanced to ensure sufficient cement supply according to the plan for all communes. In addition, based on a review of the cement needs of communes that achieved the goals in 2014, the province will provide supplementary funding to districts to continue completing the criteria. Mr. Nguyen Ho Lam also acknowledged: Currently, the demand for cement in localities is quite high while the province's budget is limited, making it extremely difficult to meet the demand.

Besides the difficulties regarding cement, another challenge that needs attention is the mechanism for localities to exploit revenue from land funds. Currently, to encourage communes to achieve the New Rural Area (NRA) goals, districts have mechanisms to allow communes to retain 60% of the proceeds from land use right auctions to create a source of investment for NRA projects in the commune. If implemented, communes would have between 2 and 10 billion VND to invest in NRA construction. However, due to the economic downturn, a sluggish land market, and overly complicated planning approval procedures, communes have not yet been able to exploit this resource.

In addition to the above difficulties, we understand that some communes still face issues regarding the area of ​​village cultural centers and schools, or the rate of third births affecting the criteria for recognizing them as Cultural Villages… These criteria and conditions stem from reality and specific characteristics, and each locality has its own proposals for higher authorities to consider and provide feedback. To ensure the quality of the criteria as prescribed, perhaps during the recognition process, the province should objectively assess the situation while also paying attention to the specific conditions of each locality to consider the matter in a practical and flexible manner, thereby promptly encouraging local movements in building new rural areas.

Text and photos:Nguyen Hai