Resettlement village of fishermen along Lam River waits wearily for red book

Incomplete joy

For many years now, every time his family needed a large sum of money, Mr. Tran Van Quang (73 years old, Dang Son commune, Do Luong), had to mortgage his Agent Orange subsidy book to borrow money. “There was nothing to mortgage at home, so he had to bring that book. But each time, people only lent him a few tens of millions. He couldn’t borrow much,” Mr. Quang said.

Mr. Quang is one of them.68 fishing householdsliving on Lam River, were granted resettlement land, and moved ashore to live since 2012, but until now, these plots of land have not been granted Land Use Rights Certificates (red books).

“I used to be in the army for nearly 6 years and received a monthly Agent Orange subsidy of 3 million VND. So the neighborhood is still considered well-off, but other households who want capital to do business, especially those whose children want to work abroad, don’t know where to borrow money. I just hope to get a red book soon so I can borrow money easily,” Mr. Quang added.

Like other households in the fishing village, Mr. Quang has made a living by fishing on the Lam River for generations. They live on boats, forming small hamlets, often anchored near the Do Luong bara dam area. According to Mr. Quang, living on the river, families are only busy looking for food, most children do not go to school. Therefore, when they grow up, they only stay around the fishing village, continuing the profession of their parents.

“Living on the river is very hard, especially during storms. That’s why when the government arranged for resettlement, everyone was excited. At least our children won’t have to depend on the boat to make a living anymore,” said Mr. Quang.

That was in 2012, 68 fishing households were given 150m each by the government.²up to 170m²land in hamlet 5 (Dang Son commune) to settle down. Mr. Ngo Van Loi (65 years old) said that after coming ashore, he was trusted to be elected as the hamlet chief of the fishing hamlet. From 68 households, after 12 years, the whole hamlet now has nearly 100 households. "Many households have children who have started their own families and moved out. However, because they have not been granted land use right certificates, they cannot divide the land for their children to live separately," said Mr. Loi.

According to Mr. Loi, in the past, fishermen had to stick to their boats all year round. Every time they looked up to the shore and saw families gathering together warmly, they all longed for a piece of land to live on, so that their children would not have to drift on the river. Therefore, when they were given land, the people were very excited.

“In the past, because of the pressure of life on the boat, most children did not study much. Most of them only knew enough to read and write. But when they came ashore, now the whole village has 3 children who have gone to university. Thanks to the land grant, now, every time there is a storm, they do not have to worry about the boat capsizing. Children can go to school easily,” said Mr. Loi. He added that because there is no land for agricultural production, although they have settled on land, many households still have to stick to the job of fishing on the river. Some work for hire in sand mines. In recent years, many young people have wanted to go abroad to work, but it is also very difficult to access capital.

According to Mr. Loi, as the village chief from the first days ashore, he witnessed the land allocation process being carried out very roughly. "There were no documents or procedures. Just draw lots, whoever won a position has stayed there until now," Mr. Loi said.

Unknown investor?

Mr. Bui Nguyen Hai - Chairman of Dang Son Commune People's Committee said that people in the fishing village have long expressed their desire to be granted land use right certificates. "However, recently we checked and did not see any decisions on land allocation when these households were allowed to go ashore. Regarding this issue, we have also submitted a report to the District People's Committee," Mr. Hai said.

Mr. Tran Van Hien - Vice Chairman of Do Luong District People's Committee said that after receiving the report from Dang Son commune, the district also checked all departments but could not find any documents or procedures related to granting resettlement land to 68 fishing households.

“We also went to the departments and branches to search but could not find it. Therefore, the District People's Committee recently issued two documents asking for opinions from the Department of Natural Resources and Environment and the Provincial People's Committee,” Mr. Hien said.

According to Mr. Hien, the project to build a resettlement area for fishing households on Lam River to move out of the flood disaster area of ​​Dang Son commune was approved by the People's Committee of Nghe An province in 2009, with a total investment of nearly 6.5 billion VND. After the resettlement area was invested in infrastructure construction, the households were allocated land in the field for use. According to the cadastral map of Dang Son commune, newly measured in 2017, the current status of these 68 households is using 11,345m². According to the land use planning of Do Luong district until 2030 approved by the Provincial People's Committee, the location of resettlement land for 68 households is planned for residential purposes in rural areas.

“Although 68 households were allocated resettlement land in the field in 2012, there is currently no land allocation decision, no land allocation record in the field, and no approved detailed planning for resettlement land division by the competent authority, so there is no basis to determine the specific area allocated to households to serve as the basis for granting land use right certificates,” said Mr. Hien.

In July 2024, the People's Committee of Do Luong district sent a document asking for opinions from the Provincial People's Committee and the Department of Natural Resources and Environment to resolve the problem and issue land use right certificates to 68 households in the fishing village. However, the district did not receive any response. By the end of November 2024, the People's Committee of Do Luong district continued to issue a similar document.

In this document, the leaders of the People's Committee of Do Luong district asked for opinions from the Provincial People's Committee and the Department of Natural Resources and Environment to allow the district to review the actual land use status of households, based on the 2017 cadastral map of Dang Son commune to determine the area to consider granting land use right certificates to 68 households in the fishing village.

Do Luong District People's Committee also proposed that the Provincial People's Committee allow the collection of land use fees before issuing land use right certificates according to the actual area in use. Regarding financial obligations, it is allowed to apply payment according to the approved land price in the land price list.

"The people's wishes are very legitimate, but there is no legal basis so we cannot do it," Mr. Tran Van Hien added.

However, in the documents of the People's Committee of Do Luong district as well as the submission of the People's Committee of Dang Son commune, it was not stated which unit is the investor of this resettlement project. When asked about this issue, Chairman of the People's Committee of Dang Son commune said that the project was implemented before he became the commune leader so he did not know. "After asking the previous commune leader, I learned that this resettlement project is invested by the Department of Agriculture and Development," said Mr. Hai.

Similarly, Mr. Nguyen Quoc Cuong - Director of the Do Luong District Construction Investment Project Management Board said that the investor of the Dang Son fishing village resettlement project is not the district. "The investor is the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development or a unit under the Department," Mr. Cuong said.

Mr. Tran Van Hien - Vice Chairman of the District People's Committee said that the investor of this project is the Rural Development Department of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Meanwhile, Mr. Le Van Luong - Head of the Department of Economic Cooperation and Rural Development (Department of Agriculture and Rural Development) said that the unit has never been the investor of any project in Dang Son commune. After being provided with project information by reporters for review, Mr. Luong said that the inspection results showed that "this project is invested by the People's Committee of Do Luong district"./.