Strictly punish acts of land encroachment and illegal construction of cemeteries and tombs in the mountainous areas of Chua and Chai Ray.
Just two months after becoming operational, the Party Committee and local government of Hung Nguyen commune have investigated and strictly dealt with a series of cases of encroachment on agricultural and forestry land in the Chua Mountain and Chai Ray Mountain areas (formerly Hung Tay commune) for the illegal construction of cemeteries and tombs.
Numerous violations have been discovered.
On the same day, September 3, 2025, the People's Committee of Hung Nguyen commune issued decisions imposing administrative penalties on Ms. TTH and Ms. CTL (residing in Ha Khe hamlet, Hung Nguyen commune) for the act of "occupying land managed by state agencies, as shown in land cadastral records, within the administrative boundaries of Hung Nguyen commune, Nghe An province" for the purpose of constructing a tomb.
Of that area, Ms. TTH occupied 68.67 square meters.2The land in the Chùa mountain area (belonging to plot number 01, map sheet number 40, cadastral map of Hung Nguyen commune); Ms. CTL occupies an area of 107.1m².2In the Chùa mountain area (belonging to plot number 01, map sheet number 40, cadastral map of Hung Nguyen commune), the People's Committee of Hung Nguyen commune fined Ms. TTH 7 million VND and Ms. CTL 7.5 million VND.
Simultaneously,People's Committee of Hung Nguyen CommuneThe authorities ordered the two women to "immediately dismantle the illegally constructed buildings and restore the land to its original condition within 10 days, as this was done due to the administrative violation." If Ms. TTH and Ms. CT L do not voluntarily comply within the deadline, the People's Committee of Hung Nguyen Commune will organize the forced demolition of the illegally constructed buildings on public land in accordance with the law.
According to the People's Committee of Hung Nguyen commune, the Chai Ray area and Chua Mountain of the former Hung Tay commune are geographically close to the former Vinh city, and for many years were a "hot spot" regarding land and construction order issues. The People's Committee of the former Hung Nguyen district had previously discovered and handled several cases of violations in this area.
After the two-tiered administrative system came into operation, the Party Committee and the People's Committee of Hung Nguyen commune gathered public opinion and surveyed the actual situation. Through this, they determined that the encroachment on public land (agricultural and forest land) and the illegal construction of cemeteries and tombs in the Chua Mountain and Chai Ray Mountain areas had recurred. Therefore, from the end of July 2025, the Standing Committee of the Hung Nguyen Commune Party Committee assigned the Commune People's Committee to organize inspections, verifications, corrections, and strict handling of violations in accordance with the law.
Through inspection and verification, the People's Committee of Hung Nguyen commune determined that there are 13 illegal constructions covering an area of 2018 square meters in the Chua Mountain area (Dai Hue hamlet).2Meanwhile, in the mountainous area of Chai Ray (Thuong Khe hamlet), four tomb structures have been basically completed, and one tomb structure has had its foundation laid, covering a total area of 743 square meters.2.
Regarding the 13 illegal constructions in the Chua Mountain area, on August 9, 2025, the People's Committee of Hung Nguyen commune dismantled 7 illegal constructions covering an area of 812.63 square meters.2A record was made and administrative penalties were issued to two individuals. For the remaining four cases, the People's Committee of Hung Nguyen commune assigned the Economic Department to review the origin of the land plots and directed the relevant authorities to investigate and identify the violators.
Regarding the five tombs in the Chai Ray mountain area, after inspection, the People's Committee of Hung Nguyen commune determined that these structures were built on forest land in Thuong Khe hamlet; of which, three structures have had boundary walls built and some tombs placed. However, the tombs are nameless, raising suspicions that they are fake. It was also determined that 4 out of 5 structures were "confirmed" by the Chai Ray Cemetery Management Board and the People's Committee of Hung Tay commune (formerly) regarding land and tombs in 2017 and 2019.
According to Mr. Luu Duc Dien, Head of the Economic Department of Hung Nguyen Commune People's Committee, after inspecting and discovering the encroachment on public land and illegal construction of tombs, the Commune People's Committee has issued suspension notices. However, verifying the perpetrators to have a basis for handling violations according to the law has proven quite difficult. In particular, in the Chai Ray mountain area, despite the suspension notice, the perpetrators continued to build illegally to complete the tombs.
Therefore, the People's Committee of Hung Nguyen commune reported to the Standing Committee of the commune Party Committee and sent a written request to the Hung Nguyen commune police to investigate and verify the identity of the person constructing the tombs in the Chua Mountain and Chai Ray Mountain areas in order to have a basis for strict handling in accordance with the law.
Mr. Luu Duc Dien further explained: “Along with requesting the commune police to investigate and verify, on August 27, 2025, the People's Committee of Hung Nguyen commune issued a notice to Dai Hue and Thuong Khe hamlets; at the same time, it posted the information on the commune's electronic portal and mass media, requesting organizations and individuals who own the tomb structures to come to the People's Committee of the commune for a meeting. The People's Committee of Hung Nguyen commune plans that, after the period of publicizing the information as prescribed, if no organization or individual comes to work, they will organize a force to dismantle the tomb structures…”
"Hopefully, a new order will be established..."
In the villages of Dai Hue and Thuong Khe, many residents are upset about the encroachment on public land and the illegal construction of tombs. They stated that the area at the foot of Chua Mountain is agricultural land, while the area at the foot of Chai Ray Mountain is forest land. Both areas, previously used for rice cultivation and perennial crops, have now become sites for cemeteries and tombs, many of which are not owned by local residents.
According to Mr. Cao Van Canh, head of Dai Hue hamlet, the residents' complaints are true, and this situation has been going on for many years: “Around 2016-2017, the area around Chua Mountain in Dai Hue hamlet started to become a hot spot for cemetery land issues. In the former Hung Tay commune, some individuals were buying up land, then subdividing it, building solid tombs, and even selling them to people from other places. As hamlet officials, we know that there are many cases of cemetery construction in the Chua Mountain area, but these people are not residents of the former Hung Tay commune. However, when the hamlet committee inspected their construction activities, most of them had confirmation documents from the commune. This is a matter that worries us greatly…”
According to Mr. Canh, the situation calmed down around 2020 when the Covid-19 pandemic broke out, but then recurred around June-July 2025; there are indications that the act of occupying land and building cemeteries is to "reserve a spot, waiting for someone to buy it" for profit…
Therefore, Mr. Canh stated: “The Chua Mountain cemetery area was planned to serve the burial needs of local people. The encroachment on land, leading to violations of the planning regulations and affecting the rights of the people in the area, has caused public outrage. Therefore, we support the Party Committee and the government taking strong action in this area. A thorough investigation and decisive action are necessary to prevent this situation from recurring. A new order needs to be established to maintain the people's trust…”
In Thuong Khe hamlet, Party branch secretary Tran Van An used to be a forestry official in Hung Tay commune (formerly). Mr. An said that many years ago, the people of Thuong Khe hamlet also had concerns about the fact that people from outside the area were building tombs in the planned Chai Ray cemetery area.
“We are also drafting a proposal report to submit to the People's Committee of the commune. Changes are needed. Historical issues may not need to be reconsidered, but planning is necessary, along with improved management responsibility, to ensure that the law is strictly enforced and the rights of the people in the area are protected…”
Tran Van An - Secretary of the Party Branch of Thuong Khe Hamlet
