Resolutely handle encroachment on 12/9 canal in Hung Nguyen
(Baonghean.vn) - Through the hotline, Nghe An Newspaper received a report about the situation of kiosk construction violating traffic safety corridors and irrigation works along the 12/9 canal in Hung Thong commune (Hung Nguyen) that has lasted for many years and has not been resolved.
Prolonged Violation
Research shows that the above reflection is true. Currently, there are about 22 kiosks built solidly and semi-solidly along the 12/9 canal and the traffic safety corridor of Provincial Road 542C through Hung Thong commune. The cause originated from the years 1994 - 1999, in order to facilitate people to develop the economy and diversify their occupations, the People's Committee of Hung Thong commune had a policy to allow some households to open business kiosks along the 12/9 canal to do business. Initially, it was only the confirmation of the commune leaders on the people's application to open a service kiosk with the requirement that "if necessary, they must be dismantled, no conditions must be asked".
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| Kiosks encroaching on the 12/9 canal section passing through Hung Thong commune (Hung Nguyen). Photo: Gia Huy |
In 2000, Hung Thong commune government established land lease contracts to open kiosks (without a specified term) for households with an area of 9 - 18m2 with a land rental fee of about 2,000 VND/m2. In 2007, the land lease contract to open service kiosks was re-established with a land rental fee of 4,000 VND/m2.
These contracts clearly state that "The construction of the service kiosk must not be solid, the construction must be simple, when there is a policy from the locality or the State to relocate, the homeowner must dismantle it, without compensation, without compensation for damages...".
According to the leader of the Economic - Infrastructure Department of Hung Nguyen district, the People's Committee of Hung Thong commune established land lease contracts to build service kiosks on the 12/9 canal, which was against its authority. And the situation of construction works encroaching on the 12/9 canal and Provincial Road 542C is not only in Hung Thong but also in Hung Tan and Hung Xa communes and has lasted for decades. The People's Committee of Hung Nguyen district has also issued many documents directing the clearance, but so far it has not been completely resolved.
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| Not only encroaching on the 12/9 canal, some encroaching kiosks also violate the traffic safety corridor of provincial road 542C. Photo: Gia Huy |
According to the current situation, the kiosks are built quite solidly, pouring concrete piles right in the middle of the 12/9 canal, which is a violation of Decree 32 of the National Assembly Standing Committee on exploitation and protection of irrigation works. In addition, these kiosks also violate the traffic safety corridor of Provincial Road 542C (based on Articles 14 and 15, Decree No. 11/2010/ND-CP of the Government regulating the management and protection of road traffic infrastructure). Specifically, Provincial Road 542C has a level 4 road scale, the traffic safety corridor limit is 9m plus a 1m area for pedestrians, a total of 10m.
"Compared to the current situation, the kiosks of the households are located on the slope of Provincial Road 542C"
The government is campaigning for clearance, but the people are not in agreement.
To overcome the situation of construction works violating the traffic safety corridor of Provincial Road 542C and encroaching on Canal 12/9 (based on Resolution 56/2016/NQ-HDND of Nghe An province and Plan 136/KH-UBND dated March 17, 2017 of Nghe An Provincial People's Committee on clearing violations of traffic safety corridors for the period 2017 - 2020; Resolution No. 06-NQ/HU of the Party Committee of Hung Nguyen district on strengthening the Party's leadership in ensuring traffic safety order), in 2018, Hung Nguyen District People's Committee issued many documents requesting communes and towns to clear traffic safety corridors in the area.
These documents clearly state: "For Provincial Road 542C, the People's Committees of Hung Tan, Hung Thong, and Hung Xa communes are required to develop a specific and detailed plan for clearing and relocating kiosks located within the traffic safety corridor", "Complete the clearance of violating kiosks no later than June 2019".
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| Some sections of provincial road 542C through Hung Thong commune (Hung Nguyen) have been cleared and signs have been installed to protect the traffic safety corridor. Photo: Gia Huy |
According to Mr. Cao Anh Duc - Chairman of Hung Thong Commune People's Committee: Although the mistake is left by history, we do not shirk our responsibility. Based on the district's policy, Hung Thong Commune Party Committee held a meeting and issued Conclusion 91 TBKL/DU on September 7, 2018 on approving the plan to clear the kiosks along the 12/9 canal and Provincial Road 542C. It requires: Notify households in 3 phases (November 2018, March 2019, June 2019) and organize the clearance in August 2019; have a plan to stop collecting sidewalk fees for kiosks of households within the clearance area starting from January 2019.
On that basis, the People's Committee of Hung Thong commune issued a clearance plan and issued Notice No. 703/TB-UBND dated November 21, 2018 on the termination of the land lease contract to open kiosk services along the 12/9 canal, Provincial Road 542C section through Hung Thong commune because of the State's policy on clearing road traffic safety corridors, kiosks violating river safety and causing environmental pollution.
“We have notified the households to have time and plans to proactively find new business locations and dismantle the kiosks themselves. At the same time, we have organized many propaganda and mobilization campaigns, but the households have not agreed. Up to now, the Commune People's Committee has organized 3 dialogues, and at the same time verified and resolved the petitions in accordance with the law. If after completing all the steps and persistently propagating and mobilizing, the households still do not accept, we will have to carry out enforcement.”
No basis for compensation
Households with business kiosks within the clearance area along the 12/9 canal and Provincial Road 542C proposed two options: first, allowing 22 households to continue doing business for at least 5 more years to exploit investment capital; second, if they have to be demolished in 2019, they will request compensation for land, resettlement land allocation, and compensation for invested assets.
According to the Hung Thong commune government, these requests are baseless because through checking the records, the commune People's Committee previously did not grant land and only allowed the opening of business kiosks. The documents of the households do not show that the People's Committee granted land but only confirmed the temporary business kiosks or land lease contracts to open kiosks.
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| Ms. Le Thi Tham, a business owner, expressed her wishes when the commune proposed to clear the stall along the 12/9 canal. Photo: Gia Huy |
In the minutes verifying the content of the documents signed for business households, Mr. Nguyen Viet Luong - former Chairman of the People's Committee of Hung Thong commune from 1994 to 1999 affirmed that "At that time, the People's Committee of the commune did not have the authority to grant land to households but allowed them to open kiosks for business". Mr. Le Sy Nam - former Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Hung Thong commune also expressed that "During the period from 1989 to 1999, I confirmed and agreed to allow some households to open kiosks for business services. No household was granted land by the commune according to regulations".
On the people's side, Ms. Hoang Thi My shared: "My family was allowed by the Commune People's Committee to open a kiosk since 1996. My husband, Mr. Le Van Hao, repairs bicycles, and I work as a tailor. Now that my husband has passed away, I can only cling to that kiosk to support my two children's education and my elderly mother. We do not oppose the State's policy, but please consider creating conditions for us to continue doing this job to make a living, because if I have to spend tens of millions of dong to buy a new kiosk, I cannot afford it."
Ms. Le Thi Tham expressed: “For decades, we have been doing business peacefully. Now we want to continue doing business (at least 5 years) until there is a new program or project to reclaim our land because most of the households are in difficult circumstances. If we are forced to dismantle, there will be a mechanism for appropriate compensation and support.”
"The commune's viewpoint is that if the cadres make mistakes, they will be dealt with accordingly, but the State's clearance policy must still be followed. However, the government will try its best to ensure the rights of the people. Currently, the commune has been approved to implement the project to renovate, upgrade and expand Thong market (expected to start in early May 2019 and be completed after 3 months). For households that strictly comply and wish to continue doing business, the commune will give priority to renting kiosks at the market (not having to buy kiosks like other households, but only having to pay business fees). Calling on organizations to support human resources and means to dismantle violating kiosks for households if needed; at the same time, it is expected to support the dismantling of assets on the land at the rate of 200,000 VND/m2”
Particularly, the desire of households to continue doing business for another 5 years is not feasible. Firstly, in Document No. 1212/UBND-KTHT dated November 20, 2018, the People's Committee of Hung Nguyen district requested 3 communes (Hung Tan, Hung Thong, Hung Xa) along the 12/9 canal to soon develop a plan and complete the clearance of violating kiosks by June 2019 at the latest.
On Monday, January 6, 2019, Hung Nguyen Irrigation Enterprise (Nam Nghe An Irrigation Company Limited) sent Official Dispatch No. 06-CV/XN to the Chairman of Hung Thong Commune People's Committee and Hung Nguyen District People's Committee to notify: "The 12/9 canal under the management of Hung Nguyen Irrigation Enterprise is a canal serving to create water sources for local pumping stations and is also the main drainage canal when the flood season comes, the kiosks built in the canal have violated Article 23 of the Ordinance on Exploitation and Protection of Irrigation Works No. 32/2001/PL-UBTV10 of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly. This is a project located in Hung Thong Commune, so Hung Nguyen Irrigation Enterprise respectfully requests the People's Committee of Hung Thong Commune and the People's Committee of Hung Nguyen District to remove the violating kiosks and restore the original status of the canal banks to ensure water supply for irrigation and drainage".
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| According to the People's Committee of Hung Thong Commune (Hung Nguyen), households that strictly comply with the clearance policy, if they wish, will be given priority to do business at Thong Market (opposite to some stalls violating traffic safety regulations on Provincial Road 542C and Canal 12/9 - PV). Photo: Google Maps |
Therefore, the People's Committee of Hung Thong commune needs to propagate and explain to the people about the clearance policy and support policies that can be implemented within its authority to create consensus and help people stabilize their lives. In addition, the People's Committee of Hung Nguyen district needs to direct and support localities to have specific solutions to completely handle illegal constructions along the 12/9 canal, avoiding creating a bad precedent for other localities with similar violations. This is also a lesson for authorities at all levels in land management in general, protecting road and waterway traffic safety corridors and irrigation works in particular.
Clause 3, Article 24 of the 1993 Land Law, amended and supplemented in 2001, stipulates the authority to allocate and lease land for agricultural, forestry and salt production purposes as follows: "The People's Committee of the commune, ward or town leases land belonging to the public land fund of the commune, ward or town". Thus, the People's Committee of the commune, ward or town only has the authority to lease land belonging to the public land fund of the commune for agricultural, forestry and salt production purposes. The People's Committee of Hung Thong commune signed a contract with households to lease land to use as kiosks for business services, which is contrary to its authority.
Second, although the lease term is not clearly stated in the contracts, according to Clause 5, Article 126 of the 2013 Land Law (effective from July 1, 2014), it is stipulated that: "The lease term of agricultural land used for public purposes of communes, wards and towns is not more than 05 years". Thus, the land lease contracts of households have exceeded 05 years and have expired.
On the other hand, the content of the "Land Lease Contract for Opening Service Booths" (2000) and "Land Lease Contract" (2007) clearly stipulates that the construction of service booths must not be solid, the construction must be simple, and when there is a local policy, the state must relocate the householder and the household must dismantle it. Currently, the state has a policy to clear the traffic safety corridor. There is no document proving that these plots of land were allocated to households by the state, so according to regulations, they will not be compensated for the land.
