Regulations are needed to prevent corruption in land-use conversion.

Avoid conflicts and overlaps.

During the group discussion on the draft amended Land Law on the morning of June 9th, delegate Van Thi Bach Tuyet (from Ho Chi Minh City) pointed out the current situation where some types of land are not regulated in the Land Law but are regulated in other laws, causing significant impact on people in recent times.

For mixed-use land and newly developed residential land in some urban areas, it will be difficult because the basis for changing land use purposes is regulated by the Land Law, but if done according to the Planning Law, there are many other land types, causing confusion for local state management agencies.

Therefore, delegates proposed that the draft Law on Land (amended) should clearly define the classification of land types and use this classification as a basis for land use planning in accordance with the Law on Planning, the Law on Investment, and the Law on Real Estate Business, in order to avoid conflicts, overlaps, and failure to address the needs of the people.

Dialogue - Regulations are needed to prevent negative consequences in land-use conversion. — National Assembly Deputy Van Thi Bach Tuyet.

In addition, delegates also expressed support for the option of not issuing annual land price lists. Local authorities will promptly update changes in areas with significant fluctuations, while areas without changes will not need to have such land price lists.

According to the delegates, if local authorities delay issuing the land price list, it will affect people who need to carry out procedures related to land price lists.

Regarding the land valuation method requested by the National Assembly's Economic Committee, which needs to ensure a balance of interests between the State, land users, and investors, the female representative stated that ensuring this principle is very difficult.

"Currently, the regulations of the existing law, based on market principles, are facing difficulties in implementation. This means that even the basis for determining land prices is challenging. Now, the consulting unit and the Land Valuation Council have to both determine land prices and balance the interests of the State, investors, and the people. I don't know how those units will manage to do it," the representative wondered.

Therefore, delegates argued that there must be a basis for calculation, because if regulations are strict but not feasible, it will be very difficult to implement them.

Adjust land use planning in a timely manner.

Contributing to the improvement of the draft Law, delegate Nguyen Thi Le (Ho Chi Minh City) stated that, in practice, reviewing land use planning every five years would not be suitable for the socio-economic development situation in regions with rapidly changing economies.

Dialogue - Regulations are needed to prevent negative consequences in land-use conversion (Figure 2). — Delegates from Ho Chi Minh City at the group discussion session.

Therefore, the delegates suggested considering a flexible approach regarding deadlines and periodic reviews, tailored to each region of the locality.

Regarding land acquisition, compensation, support, and resettlement, Ms. Le stated that the draft Law has very specifically stipulated the cases of land acquisition for socio-economic development, for national and public benefit, and clearly defined the content, conditions, and criteria of these projects.

At the same time, Chapter 7 of the draft Law has also made more specific adjustments to compensation, support, and resettlement policies so that after land is reclaimed, people whose land is reclaimed must have housing, ensuring a life equal to or better than their current one, effectively implementing vocational training, job creation, production reorganization, and stabilizing the lives of those whose land is reclaimed.

"These contents fully reflect the spirit of Resolution 18 in a way that is most beneficial to land users. Clearly, the government's obligation is to create conditions for people whose land is being reclaimed to have a life equal to, or even better than, their previous place of residence," the representative emphasized.

She suggested adding regulations for land acquisition to build infrastructure for workers in industrial parks, export processing zones, and concentrated worker areas. These regulations should clearly state that the conditions include both physical and spiritual development, not just the construction of houses. Currently, the spiritual well-being of workers in these areas is largely limited.

Regarding land acquisition compensation prices, speaking at the discussion session, delegate Truong Trong Nghia (from Ho Chi Minh City delegation) stated that compensation prices are now beginning to approach market rates, but he believes that compensation for emotional distress during land acquisition should also be considered.

Dialogue - Regulations are needed to prevent negative consequences in land-use conversion (Figure 3). — National Assembly Deputy Truong Trong Nghia.

"Civil law allows for compensation, both material and emotional damages. Therefore, we must also consider how much emotional compensation is needed when people have to relocate from their homes and leave places they have cherished and experienced for many years. If compensation is calculated in monetary terms, we must also take all those factors into account," the representative stated.

Regarding land price lists, delegates suggested that the responsibility for updating these lists rests with the State, and that the State should act as an "arbitrator" to ensure land prices closely reflect market values.

According to the delegates, the market price rule is an extremely important basis for many other issues, including dispute resolution, which also relies on the State's land price list.

Commenting on the draft Law, delegate Nguyen Minh Duc (Ho Chi Minh City) suggested that regulations on BT (Build-Transfer) forms of capital contribution and transfer must be very strict and limit the subjects to avoid land revenue losses.

The delegates pointed out that in the past, there have been projects involving land acquisition for national defense, security, and public interest purposes, but after a period of time, before the projects were implemented, the land use purpose was changed.

"There is a situation where land is reclaimed for the construction of entertainment areas, but due to some regulation, it is converted into a commercial center combined with residential housing. This leads to a huge disparity in land value after the land is converted to a commercial center with services and commercial housing, and ultimately sold at very high prices. Meanwhile, the compensation for people whose land is reclaimed is very low. Therefore, it leads to prolonged land disputes and lawsuits," the representative said.

Therefore, in the draft Law, Mr. Duc argued that this issue needs to be "tied down" by a very clear regulation in Article 12, which lists prohibited acts. Specifically, it must clearly stipulate that land can be reclaimed for national defense and security purposes, but it must be strictly prohibited to convert it to other land use purposes .

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