"Rock thieves" openly rampant?

Digging up the whole hill

According to local people's feedback, recently, many strangers from other localities have used excavators to dig up ancient stones and ornamental stones in Ha Son commune, then loaded them onto large trucks to sell for profit. The above situation happened openly, and people all knew about it, but they did not understand why local authorities such as the People's Committee, the Commune Police... did not know about it and did not handle it responsibly, causing public opinion to be extremely confused.

Following the people's feedback, on May 6, 2023, reporters from the Natural Resources and Environment Newspaper were present at Con Son hamlet, Ha Son commune to investigate the incident. Through what was recorded, the people's feedback was completely grounded.

Roads are made to access the mining area.

According to the reporter's records, in Con Son hamlet, only a few hundred meters from the main gate of the S1 Farm Cluster of MNS FARM Nghe An Company Limited, there is an illegal stone quarrying site on a gentle hill.

All the trees on this hill have been cut down and hundreds of cubic meters of rock have been dug up. On both sides of this hill are traces of excavators digging up the road, still very new. Large and small ornamental rocks are neatly stacked in piles scattered everywhere. Many large and small trees have been knocked down by excavators and their roots have fallen over. Besides the rocks that have been dug up and piled up, many large rocks are still being dug up by excavators, with the intention of continuing to be exploited in the future.

The mining area is near the gate of Masan pig farm.

According to a resident of Ha Son commune who is tending a nearby field, the phenomenon of quarrying ornamental stones has been going on for many years in Ha Son commune and has now been almost completely quarried. Recently, a remaining hill of a landowner in Con To hamlet, Ha Son commune was sold to a person from another locality. After that, recently, many strangers were seen bringing excavators and starting to quarry. The amount of quarried stones was quite large and some of them have been transported away.

“I don’t understand why the mining area is located near the gate of Masan pig farm and right next to the main road, only about 3km from the headquarters of Ha Son commune People’s Committee, but the authorities do not know about it to check and handle it?” – This resident asked.

"Stalking" forever can not catch?

After recording the scene, the reporter immediately contacted Mr. Truong Van An, Chairman of the People's Committee of Ha Son Commune. At that time, Mr. An admitted that the phenomenon of ornamental stone mining occurred in the area. However, Mr. An also told the reporter that "They work all night, around 1 to 2 am, they sneak in with machines to dig for a few hours and then escape. The commune has also "lurked" several times to catch them, but usually they send 7-8 people to stand guard, watch, and monitor everywhere, so we have not been able to catch them yet" (?). When asked if he knew who was responsible for the mining, Mr. An said he could not determine who or where.

Next, the reporter reported this information to the staff of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of Nghe An province. Therefore, on May 8, 2023, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of Nghe An province issued Document No. 2960/STNMT-KS on the inspection and verification of the content of the reflection on illegal mineral exploitation in Ha Son commune, Quy Hop district to the Chairman of the People's Committee of this district.

Document of Nghe An Province Department of Natural Resources and Environment requests Chairman of Quy Hop District People's Committee to direct inspection and handling.

Accordingly, the above Document requests the Chairman of the People's Committee of Quy Hop district to direct relevant departments and units; the People's Committee of Ha Son commune to urgently inspect, verify and clarify the content of the reflection and take strict measures to handle illegal mineral exploitation, handle the volume of minerals exploited and gathered in the area; resolutely handle the head of the People's Committee of Ha Son commune and related organizations and individuals if illegal mineral exploitation in the commune occurs for a long time without being completely handled.

The above document also requires the results of the inspection and handling of the request to be reported to the Provincial People's Committee and the Department of Natural Resources and Environment before May 15, 2023.

On May 11, 2023, the reporter contacted the leader of the People's Committee of Quy Hop district. Accordingly, a leader of the People's Committee of this district confirmed that he had received the information and had issued a document directing the People's Committee of Ha Son commune to conduct a field inspection and report to the People's Committee of this district.

billiards game(1).jpg — There is still a lot of rock ready to be dug.

On the same day, the reporter continued to contact Mr. Truong Van An - Chairman of the People's Committee of Ha Son commune to get more information about the inspection and handling of the case. Mr. An said that the commune has inspected and is making a report to the People's Committee of Quy Hop district. "The above land area is the tree-growing land of a household in Con To hamlet, Ha Son commune. However, after verification, they said that this land had been transferred to another individual but we have not been able to contact this person. We do not know who is responsible for the exploitation" - Mr. An said.

According to Mr. An, the next plan is that the commune will use excavators to dig and rebuild the road to prevent people and vehicles from entering to transport the mined stone, gathering it at the site for sale.

stone-2(1).jpg — An entire hill was devastated by mining, but the authorities "stalked" for a long time but could not catch the mining group.

With the illegal mining happening in Ha Son commune but the local leaders are confused and somewhat indecisive in inspecting and handling the matter, public opinion cannot help but worry! ...

Natural Resources and Environment Newspaper will continue to inform readers!

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