Overlapping violations of forest land in Soc Son

Hanoi – Permanent structures continue to spring up in the Soc Son protected forest area, and authorities say it's difficult to completely resolve the issue due to overlapping forest planning with residential land.

Having lived at the foot of Dong Chum hill (Phu Ninh village, Minh Phu commune) for 35 years, Mrs. Nhung had never witnessed such a fierce flash flood that buried so many cars under mud and rocks as on August 4th.

Ban Tien hamlet, located at the foot of the hill, was established in 1988 when the government implemented a policy of relocating people to Soc Son to plant trees. Ms. Nhung recounted that previously, the area from the hamlet to the hilltop was covered with green trees, but in recent years, the road up the hill has been paved with concrete. On both sides of the road are solid constructions and plots of land that have been divided into lots and protected by walls.

Recurrence of violations after two inspections.

The road was buried under rocks and soil due to residents arbitrarily pouring concrete, which was not included in the planning and was not permitted for construction. Records from the Minh Phu Commune People's Committee show that from April 2021 to July 2022, inter-agency forces recorded violations by homestays, houses, and permanent structures along the concrete road in the flash flood-affected area of ​​Ban Tien hamlet. The actions were identified as converting protected forest land (planted forest) to non- agricultural land without authorization from competent authorities.

About 2 km away, the Dong Do irrigation lake (Minh Tan hamlet, Minh Tri commune), a hub for homestays and restaurants catering to tourists , is also experiencing significant construction activity. Late last year, Minh Tri commune issued two notices requesting individuals and organizations involved in the illegal land leveling and encroachment on the water surface in this area to report to the commune office for questioning.

Many sturdy structures have been built at the foot of Dõng Chum hill, Ban Tiện hamlet. Photo: Hoàng Phong

The Soc Son protective forest covers an area of ​​4,557 square meters, spread across 10 communes of Soc Son district, including Minh Phu, Minh Tri, Hien Ninh, Bac Son, Nam Son, Hong Ky, Phu Linh, Quang Tien, Tien Duoc, Tan Minh, and Soc Son town. Encroachment on Soc Son forest land has been ongoing for many years.

In 2006, the Government Inspectorate discovered numerous violations after inspecting the management and use of forest land at the Soc Son Forestry Station and 9 communes. In the protected and special-use forest area of ​​Soc Son, authorities recorded over 650 households constructing buildings on forest land, covering an area of ​​11 hectares. Among these, nearly 80 were permanent houses and stilt houses; 26 cases involved construction in the form of farms and production workshops.

However, the handling and rectification by the People's Committee of Soc Son district and relevant departments and agencies have been very slow, not thorough, and violations continue to occur. Therefore, the city has requested a comprehensive inspection of the management and use of forest land and construction order in Soc Son.

In 2019, the Hanoi City Inspectorate announced its findings, revealing thousands of violations of protected forest land. In just two communes, Minh Phu and Minh Tri, and the areas surrounding large lakes (Dong Quan, Ham Lon, Dong Do, etc.) within the forest planning zone, there were 797 illegal constructions. Approximately 40 district officials were disciplined, and the illegal constructions were forcibly demolished.

A year later, the handling of the violations had to be temporarily suspended for review due to complaints from residents that the 2008 forest planning overlapped with residential areas.

While authorities are still reviewing the situation, many constructions continue to spring up on land designated for forest. Following the flash flood on August 4th, the Minh Phu commune authorities issued citations for illegal constructions, including a self-built concrete road and five structures along the road. Similarly, in the Dong Do lake area, authorities have discovered and dealt with numerous cases of land leveling and encroachment on the water surface.

According to statistics from Soc Son district, in the first six months of this year, authorities discovered 187 cases of construction violations on forest land. In addition, the government has dealt with 149 illegal constructions dating back to 2022 and earlier, based on decisions and inspection conclusions from the city.

Planning overlaps between forest land and residential land.

Minh Tan village, Minh Tri commune, is one of the residential areas included in the forest planning in 2008. The village covers an area of ​​over 1,115 hectares, of which nearly 700 hectares are leased forest land, 290 hectares are orchard land, and the remainder is land for the construction of cultural facilities, schools, transportation infrastructure, etc.

Residents of Minh Tan village examine the 2008 forest planning map on August 11th. Photo: Vo Hai

Village head Nguyen Van Hoa recounted that in 1985, following the government's policy of greening barren hills and white land, about 100 families from various communes in Soc Son district came to the Dong Do area to settle and plant trees. In 2019, when authorities conducted an inspection, the residents were shocked to learn that the entire residential area was included in the 2008 forest planning.

"No one came to investigate or ask us anything when we were doing the planning in 2008. Meanwhile, at that time, people had been living in the Dong Do area for more than 20 years with a full local government apparatus such as a party secretary, village head, and a school system," Mr. Hoa said.

After nearly 40 years, from an initial 100 households, Minh Tan village now has about 200 households. The village head said that the population has increased, with many families having multiple generations living together, but they still have to share the same household registration because the authorities have not allowed separation since the 2008 planning.

Because the area is within the forest planning zone, the road and electricity infrastructure is dilapidated and has not received investment; some households lack electricity. Repairing or building houses is a violation because it is within the planning zone, but people still have to build to ensure their living conditions.

According to the Minh Tri Commune People's Committee, because Minh Tan village was not included in the cadastral map, in 1998, according to Decision 2334 approving the planning of special-use protective forest land in Soc Son, the entire area was included in the forest planning.

In 2006, the district established a task force to compile statistics on the number of households requiring cadastral mapping. However, the residents of Minh Tan village disagreed with the plan to map 400 m2 of residential land and 2,000 m2 of garden/forest land per household, so the district could not implement it. Therefore, in the 2008 decision on the protective forest planning, the entire village remained included in the plan and was not separated.

"Land management has been fraught with shortcomings for a long time. The capacity of officials across multiple terms has been limited. Management records are incomplete, cadastral records are not maintained, and households borrowing land under the form of forest land registers in the area cannot be identified," the report from the Minh Tri Commune People's Committee stated, pointing out that the buying and selling of land within the 2008 forest planning area was not monitored. Therefore, violations were only discovered by authorities when people registered their land and began construction activities.

Mr. Nguyen Manh Phuong, Deputy Director of the Hanoi Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said there are approximately 27,000 hectares of forest in 7 districts and towns (Ba Vi, Chuong My, My Duc, Quoc Oai, Soc Son, Thach That, and Son Tay). In early 2022, the Department advised the city to issue a plan directing localities with forests to review, demarcate, digitize the entire area, and assign its management to the agricultural sector.

However, more than a year has passed, and the review remains incomplete due to various reasons, including the resolution of overlapping land use issues between forest land and residential land in some areas.

Dong Do irrigation reservoir, where numerous illegal constructions on forest land have been dealt with by Soc Son district authorities. Photo: Hoang Phong

According to Mr. Phuong, the city has directed Soc Son district to review and prepare complete documentation on the residential land area of ​​people whose land was affected by overlapping forest protection planning before 1993. Afterward, the district needs to coordinate with relevant departments and agencies to propose to the City People's Committee the separation of these two types of land areas.

Pham Quang Ngoc, Vice Chairman of the Soc Son District People's Committee, also stated that the 2008 forest planning (Decision No. 2100 dated May 29, 2008) has many shortcomings. The city planned the entire 4,557 hectares of land as protective forest while only 3,266 hectares were actual forest.

"Of the remaining nearly 1,300 hectares, there are approximately 3,000 plots of land belonging to hamlets and villages located within the forest, in addition to public facilities, cultural and historical relics, and even military structures," Mr. Ngoc informed, adding that the district is reviewing the situation to propose to the city adjustments to the 2008 forest planning to reflect the actual situation, expected to be completed in October.

"We urge residents whose land overlaps with the 2008 planning scheme to be patient, refrain from constructing buildings, and wait for the authorities to review and compile statistics and report a plan to the city," the Vice Chairman of Soc Son advised.

However, recent statistics show that construction activity is still rampant in many areas designated as forest zones.

Vo Hai

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