The draft Law amending the Law on Urban and Rural Planning promotes decentralization, giving power to the People's Committees at the commune level, allowing the commune level to establish and approve a number of detailed plans. However, many National Assembly deputies are concerned that the capacity of officials is not guaranteed, which could lead to fragmented and unsynchronized planning.
Commune level self-approves planning, requires capacity and appraisal conditions
Delegate Thach Phuoc Binh ( Vinh Long delegation) commented that although the current Law clearly defines the authority between the Central and local levels, it is still too rigid, leading to prolonged procedures for many lower-level planning.
He expressed his agreement with the draft law promoting decentralization from the provincial People's Committee to the commune People's Committee, allowing the commune level to establish and approve a number of detailed plans.
However, he stressed that this strong decentralization must be accompanied by an effective coordination mechanism to avoid fragmented and unsynchronized planning.
Delegate Thach Phuoc Binh (Vinh Long delegation).
The viewpoint on the capacity to implement planning at the grassroots level was also of interest to many delegates. Delegate Nguyen Tam Hung (HCMC delegation) proposed to add the condition that decentralization must be linked to the capacity of specialized agencies and to apply a mandatory training regime for commune-level cadres.
He worried: " To match the capacity of the team, it is recommended to consider adding conditions for decentralization linked to the capacity of professional agencies and mandatory training regimes. If not clearly regulated, the commune level after the arrangement will easily be confused, leading to planning being behind schedule or not ensuring quality."
Delegate Nguyen Tam Hung (HCMC delegation).
Delegate Pham Van Hoa ( Dong Thap delegation) agreed to assign the commune level to establish land use planning but noted that this must be done on the basis of the province's general planning.
Concerned about the current shortage and weakness of communal-level staff, he suggested that there should be active support from the provincial level, especially in terms of professional staff. He said that it would be very difficult if the communal level were to conduct approval, appraisal or hire consultants on its own.
Delegate Nguyen Thi Suu (Hue City delegation) assessed that the draft law stipulating that the People's Committee at the commune level is allowed to approve the commune's master plan is a step forward in decentralization, but she noted that the draft does not stipulate the requirement for appraisal before approval and lacks a monitoring mechanism at the provincial level. This can easily lead to conflicts with higher-level plans if the commune level approves without reference.
Delegate Nguyen Thi Suu (Hue City delegation).
Ms. Suu proposed to clearly define the conditions for decentralization, including specialized planning apparatus, personnel with practice certificates and supporting digital infrastructure. Commune planning must be appraised before approval by the provincial professional agency, at the same time the Provincial People's Committee assesses the capacity and recognizes the status of the commune. The Provincial People's Committee is still legally responsible if the commune planning violates a higher level, to ensure quality and avoid "everyone doing their own thing" and lack of consistency.
Decentralization, decentralization of planning, increased initiative and responsibility
Explaining the opinions of National Assembly delegates, Minister of Construction Tran Hong Minh said that currently the whole country has nearly 300 institutes and centers implementing local planning, while big cities also have institutes of planning and architecture.
At the provincial level, planning is often done by hiring these consulting units, closely following national planning and sectoral planning to develop provincial and city planning. When implementing down to the commune level, according to the Ministry's viewpoint, it is necessary to implement synchronously from the province to the commune, using the same consulting unit or specialized focal point to ensure consistency.
Regarding planning appraisal, the Departments of Construction after the merger currently have a team of about 60-70 specialized engineers, qualified to form an appraisal council. For national-scale planning, the Ministry of Construction still hires more specialized experts to ensure quality.
Minister of Construction Tran Hong Minh.
The Minister emphasized: “ When promoting decentralization and delegation of authority in planning and approval, it should not be assumed that the commune or provincial levels do not have the capacity to appraise. Instead, there should be specific guidance through decrees and circulars to ensure consistency and quality in implementation.”
In particular, zoning plans within the commune level will be implemented by the People's Committee at the commune level, while important plans on politics, culture, history, security - defense and economic development will be approved by the Provincial People's Committee.
During the process of completing the draft Law, opinions from the review agency and delegates emphasized increasing the initiative and responsibility of People's Committees at all levels.
Zoning plans and detailed plans must be approved by the Provincial People's Committee based on the professional capacity, apparatus and technical conditions of the locality. When the Commune People's Committee has not met the appraisal requirements, the implementation will be transferred to the Provincial People's Committee to avoid the situation where the State has to directly prepare all detailed plans.
The Draft Law also clearly stipulates the establishment of urban and rural planning, in which detailed plans must be suitable to practical conditions, ensuring the ability to implement locally, while creating a flexible mechanism for People's Committees at all levels to effectively implement, increasing initiative and responsibility in planning management.
Source: https://vtcnews.vn/bo-truong-xay-dung-khong-nen-cho-rang-cap-xa-tinh-khong-du-nang-luc-tham-dinh-ar989996.html
![[Photo series] Close-up of the 600 billion VND road before technical opening day](https://vphoto.vietnam.vn/thumb/402x226/vietnam/resource/IMAGE/2025/11/29/1764396366992_anh_1_20251129105320.jpeg)
Comment (0)