Need to strictly manage dry season surface soil improvement activities

In recent days, in Khanh Binh commune, Tran Van Thoi district, some households have been reclaiming land by hiring machinery to dig up the topsoil of their fields. Local authorities are strengthening the management of land reclaiming activities by people to ensure compliance with regulations.

A case of digging to get the topsoil layer in a field in Kinh Hoi hamlet, Khanh Binh commune, Tran Van Thoi district, on February 18, 2025.

According to the reporter's records, at about 2:00 p.m. on February 18, 2025, in the field of Kinh Hoi hamlet, Khanh Binh commune, Tran Van Thoi district, two trucks loaded with soil followed each other on the field, close to the Tac Thu - Song Doc road, near Khanh Hoi culvert and dumped soil into a garden, then hurriedly returned to a field about 600 meters away, where a hoe was digging the top layer of soil to scoop it up onto the truck. Just like that, about 15 minutes later, a full truck, weighing about 2 cubic meters of soil.

Not far away, another excavator was scraping the topsoil of another field, gathering it into several piles, each pile about 2-3 cubic meters of soil, to prepare to be loaded onto a truck to be transported elsewhere.

Through research, many households here explained that because the high mound fields cannot retain water, leading to many difficulties in rice production, they hired machines to dig up some of the topsoil to improve the soil, making rice cultivation more favorable. Depending on the area of ​​the high mound fields, the soil layer will be taken at different depths, on average about 5-10 cm.

Through discussion, local government leaders said that in the past, during the dry season, some households had production plots that faced difficulties and low productivity. The reason was that the land surface was too mounded and high compared to adjacent plots, and was not flat (plots were too mounded, plots were too low). Mounded plots could not retain irrigation water when the rain stopped, often lacking water, and when the rice was blooming, rats damaged them, causing damage and reducing productivity; low-lying plots were often flooded when it rained, limiting the growth of rice plants, making cultivation very difficult. Therefore, people improved the land by lowering the mounds and height of the plots and transporting excess soil to fill in the low-lying areas, transporting them to fill in ponds and family gardens so that the land was flat compared to plots in the area to facilitate production and reduce the damage caused by rats destroying crops.

According to experts, the topsoil is the most fertile layer of soil, containing many nutrients necessary for crops.

To strengthen the inspection of land reclamation by households in accordance with regulations, ensure that it does not affect production and prevent cases of taking advantage of land reclamation to transport and sell surface land in the commune, the Chairman of the Commune People's Committee has issued an official dispatch directing and assigning the Working Group to strengthen patrolling and inspection work, and if detected, coordinate with specialized civil servants to handle according to legal regulations. Heads of hamlets strengthen propaganda work, instruct households to renovate land appropriately so as not to affect production; regularly inspect land reclamation by households, prevent cases of taking land to transport, donate, or buy and sell elsewhere; promptly report to the Commune People's Committee and the Working Group on cases of illegal mineral exploitation and transportation to other places, for handling according to regulations.

Mr. Duong Minh Sang, Vice Chairman of Khanh Binh Commune People's Committee, informed: "The locality has developed a propaganda plan, specifically assigning each member of the People's Committee to regularly inspect and handle issues in the fields of land, resources and minerals, in key hamlets such as Hamlet 19/5, Rach Bao, Ong Bich, Pham Kiet and Rach Cui. In the past, the locality has not discovered any cases of exploiting rice field land for sale."

It is known that previously, in the dry seasons of 2023 and 2024, illegal exploitation of rice field surface occurred in many places in the province. Immediately after the media reported this, many localities also inspected and handled this situation.

According to the industry, the topsoil is the most fertile layer of soil, containing many nutrients necessary for plants. This illegal exploitation not only causes loss of mineral resources, negatively impacts the ecological environment but also causes many consequences in agricultural production.

Therefore, the relevant authorities need to strengthen the dissemination of legal regulations in this field so that people can understand and implement them properly. At the same time, it is necessary to coordinate closely in managing surface mining activities and strictly handle violations according to regulations./.

Middle Peak

Source: https://baocamau.vn/can-quan-ly-chat-hoat-dong-cai-tao-dat-mat-mua-kho-a37498.html