'Diagnosing' violations of irrigation works in Ha Tinh: All kinds of violations

The encroachment on the protection corridor of irrigation works in Ha Tinh has been a pain for many years, but the intervention of the authorities has not been really drastic.

More than 1,000 cases of encroachment on construction protection corridors

In the context of climate change increasing in a negative direction, the earth is getting hotter every day, the value of water resources needs to be cared for and protected more than ever.

In recent years, the Government, central ministries, branches and Ha Tinh province have invested resources to build and repair many irrigation works to store water for the dry season, collect water and cut floods for the rainy season. However, the attention has not been commensurate with the rate of deterioration of dams, reservoirs and canals.

Dams, reservoirs and irrigation canals play a particularly important role in promoting production development, flood drainage and protecting the ecological environment. Photo: Thanh Nga.

Of course, in addition to the limited budget factor, the awareness of a large part of the people, the indifference of some local authorities or the lack of synchronous management of the irrigation works management unit have contributed to the more serious degradation of dams and canals, reducing the efficiency of water storage, water supply and irrigation services.

Nam Ha Tinh Irrigation Company Limited (Nam Ha Tinh Irrigation) is one of the two largest irrigation enterprises in Ha Tinh province, currently performing the task of managing, exploiting and protecting 38 reservoirs, 5 dams, 1 saltwater prevention and freshwater retention sluice and over 435 km of canals and works on the canals in 34 communes across the province.

Over the years, the company's affiliated units have regularly inspected, reviewed, and prevented acts of encroachment on land and protection corridors of construction works managed by the unit, but in reality, the number of violations handled can be "counted on the fingers".

Many structures are being encroached upon by people, illegally constructing structures in the lake bed. Photo: Thanh Nga.

“Currently, in the system of works we manage, there are 1,041 cases of encroachment on land and construction protection corridors, concentrated in densely populated areas or locations with high land value. The violations are mainly planting perennial trees, building fences, houses, tents, temporary works, and making livestock farms, but because the violations existed before the works were handed over to the management company, it is difficult to handle them completely,” informed Mr. Ho Duc Viet, Head of Exploitation Management Department (Nam Ha Tinh Irrigation Company).

Typical projects include: Da Den Lake (former Ngoc Son commune); Ba Khe Lake (former Ky Anh district); Khe Sung Lake (former Lam Hop commune); Khe Lau Lake (former Cam Linh commune).

According to Mr. Ho Duc Viet, Da Den Lake, Ngoc Son Commune, Thach Ha District (old), is one of the "hot spots" for violations of the scope of irrigation works. This reservoir has the role of storing water for annual irrigation for more than 40 hectares of agricultural land in Ngoc Son Commune. Previously, the project was managed and protected by the commune. In July 2024, under the direction of Ha Tinh Province, Thach Ha District handed over the lake to Nam Ha Tinh Irrigation Company for management and operation. However, at that time, the project was encroached upon by 3 households, causing unsafe construction and water pollution.

“According to regulations, the responsibility for resolving the existing problems belongs to Ngoc Son commune (now Toan Luu commune). When handing over the project, the government committed to thoroughly handling it, but until now, after many times we have sent out documents to coordinate the resolution, everything is still “at a standstill”, the Head of the Management - Exploitation Department, Nam Ha Tinh Irrigation Company sighed.

Impact on dam safety and irrigation operations. Photo: Thanh Nga.

In August 2024, the enterprise discovered that Mr. Hoang Quan's household had assembled floating rafts to raise fish within the protection area of ​​an irrigation project without permission from the authorities. Immediately after that, the enterprise coordinated with the People's Committee of Ky Thinh Ward to conduct an inspection, draw up a record, and request Mr. Quan's household to temporarily stop, dismantle, and immediately clear the violating items. However, the household did not comply.

Currently, Mr. Truong Khanh Dam has not yet dismantled the temporary corrugated iron house at the shoulder of Da Den lake as committed before July 15, 2024 and finished harvesting fish before December 31, 2024. Mr. Kieu Dinh Canh raises 500 pigs/batch, although there is a filtration system, but the lake water has been observed to be black, creating conditions for duckweed to grow strongly, affecting the quality of water sources and drainage capacity during the rainy season.

"Up to the time of the commune merger, the People's Committee of the old Ngoc Son commune and the households had not yet organized an inspection to clarify the cause and solution," the document stated the existence of the project.

As for Mr. Le Van Lan's family, they illegally built a structure right on the left shoulder of the spillway. Nam Ha Tinh Irrigation Company has worked with Mr. Lan's family many times, requesting the Ngoc Son commune government to intervene, but the locality has not organized any clearance.

After Da Den Lake, in recent years, the handling of violations at Tau Voi Reservoir, Ky Thinh Ward, Ky Anh Town (old) has also encountered many difficulties. This reservoir was built in 1986 and was assigned by the People's Committee of Ha Tinh Province to Nam Ha Tinh Irrigation Company to directly manage, operate, exploit and protect, with the task of supplying irrigation water for agricultural production of 350 hectares of rice in Ky Thinh Ward; supplying water for Vung Ang I Thermal Power Plant and creating a water source for Formosa Steel Complex.

Violations at Tau Voi Lake have not been completely resolved for many years. Photo: Thanh Nga.

“According to regulations, activities in the vicinity of the reservoir, which are calculated from the boundary line with the elevation equal to the dam crest elevation down to the reservoir, must be licensed by the People's Committee of Ha Tinh province. Currently, Mr. Quan has not yet corrected the violation, so we request that Vung Ang ward direct relevant organizations and individuals to promptly handle the violation and return a safe environment to the project,” emphasized the leader of Nam Ha Tinh Irrigation Company.

Unsafe, reduced construction efficiency

Encroachment, construction, tree planting, and material gathering in the corridor of dams and irrigation canals not only weaken the structure and obscure inspection but also increase the risk of unsafe construction, especially during the rainy season.

Enterprises have repeatedly issued documents requesting local authorities to handle the matter according to their authority, but in reality, implementation at the facility remains "on paper". Photo: Thanh Nga.

This also hinders operations such as when it is necessary to discharge flood water or regulate water, obstacles in the corridor cause difficulties, even potentially posing a risk of serious incidents. Not to mention, waste and waste from people's daily activities and production directly pollute water sources and reduce irrigation capacity.

“These are major causes of increased risks of construction safety, especially in the context of increasingly complex extreme rain and floods,” said Mr. Thai Doan Bao, Head of the Ke Go main canal cluster, who has 11 years of experience working in the irrigation sector.

Source: https://nongnghiepmoitruong.vn/bat-mach-vi-pham-cong-trinh-thuy-loi-o-ha-tinh-muon-kieu-vi-pham-d782440.html