Need to review all small hydropower plants and flood discharge procedures after the "great flood"

(Dan Tri) - From the recent "great flood" in some provinces, delegate Trinh Xuan An proposed to review the entire small hydropower system and re-evaluate the flood discharge process to avoid "correct procedures but serious consequences".

This proposal was made by delegate Trinh Xuan An (full-time delegate at the National Defense, Security and Foreign Affairs Committee) during the discussion session on the morning of November 28, on the draft Law on Planning (amended) and the adjustment of the National Master Plan for the 2021-2030 period, with a vision to 2050.

Avoid “correct procedure but severe consequences”

From the consequences and severe damage caused by the recent "great floods" in some localities, delegate An proposed that national master planning, urban planning, and regional planning must be associated with disaster risk management.

“It is necessary to invest more in inter-regional and inter-provincial monitoring systems to handle the consequences caused by natural disasters,” Mr. An emphasized.

National Assembly Delegate Trinh Xuan An (Photo: Hong Phong).

To prevent natural disaster risks, according to the delegate, it is necessary to apply new standards and new data from recent "historic peaks" recorded in localities, in order to design a planning system, especially related to lakes and hydropower systems.

Delegate Trinh Xuan An proposed reviewing the entire small hydropower system and re-evaluating flood discharge procedures to avoid "correct procedures but serious consequences".

In the current zoning, there are regions with more than 10 provinces, but there are regions with only 3 provinces, such as the Southeast region currently has Ho Chi Minh City, Dong Nai and Tay Ninh. Emphasizing that this is the region with "the fewest provinces but the most important" in contributing to the growth of the whole country, delegate An said that there should be a special mechanism in regional coordination so that regions with specific characteristics have more authority, conditions to clear bottlenecks and develop a driving role.

Regarding the adjustment of the national master plan, Mr. An said that the whole country is divided into 6 socio -economic regions and each region has its own development priorities, but only the North Central region links socio-economic development with national defense and security.

He suggested that all socio-economic development zones must have content on ensuring and linking socio-economic development with national defense and security. At the same time, it is necessary to add specific targets and objectives on ensuring national defense and security in the national master plan.

First of all, according to Mr. An, it is necessary to integrate defense planning into national planning, especially in the context of organizing new administrative boundaries and merging provinces and organizing two-level local governments.

Another content mentioned by delegate An is clarifying the dual-use mechanism and adding the content of national planning that must be linked to the sea and island defense posture.

According to him, it is necessary to clearly define dual-use infrastructure systems for important national projects, especially railways, high-speed railways, seaports, airports and large highway projects.

Many key projects are delayed due to prolonged processes.

Recognizing that planning is the foundation for investment orientation, ensuring effective resource allocation and harmonizing national, local and investor interests, delegate Nguyen Tam Hung (HCMC) pointed out that in recent times, the organization and implementation of planning in a number of sectors, fields and localities still has a state of fragmented management, lacking connectivity and unified coordination.

National Assembly Delegate Nguyen Tam Hung (Photo: Hong Phong).

This, according to him, leads to delays in project approval, increases costs for investors and reduces the efficiency of using social resources.

Delegates proposed adding a mandatory mechanism to update, share, and synchronize planning data between ministries, branches, and local authorities on a unified digital system, while clearly defining accountability when planning progress is slow or there is no connection between branches.

“This both overcomes the dispersion of resources and ensures a stable, open and predictable investment environment,” said Mr. Hung.

In addition, Mr. Hung suggested considering legalizing the mechanism of "synchronous electronic filing" with mandatory response deadlines for each agency, to address the situation where many key projects are delayed due to prolonged internal processes, increasing costs and reducing the competitiveness of the economy.

Delegate Ha Sy Dong (Quang Tri) also acknowledged that the number of planned floors is still large, leading to a risk of overlap in implementation.

National Assembly Delegate Ha Sy Dong (Photo: Hong Phong).

To avoid fragmentation, he recommended adding priority to national-level planning; regional planning if it has inter-provincial impact and spillover effects; provincial planning is considered when it has direct socio-economic benefits.

To resolve the situation of planning that has lasted for many years without a final decision-making agency, delegate Dong proposed to stipulate that the Prime Minister make the final decision on major planning conflicts, and set a deadline for handling them to avoid delay.

According to Mr. Dong, shortening the planning process, appraisal, and approval is necessary to avoid missing investment opportunities. He also believes that provincial planning needs to be given stronger adjustment powers to increase initiative, because in reality, localities are having to ask for permission from many levels when making local adjustments, even on a small scale, causing delays and reducing competitiveness in attracting investment.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/thoi-su/can-ra-soat-toan-bo-thuy-dien-nho-va-quy-trinh-xa-lu-sau-dai-hong-thuy-20251128104335518.htm