Proposal to improve policies on resource exploitation, environmental protection and construction procedure reform

On the morning of November 6, within the framework of the 10th Session of the 15th National Assembly, the National Assembly discussed in groups the Draft Law on Construction (amended); the Draft Law on amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Geology and Minerals; the Draft Law on amending and supplementing a number of articles of laws in the fields of agriculture and environment.

At Discussion Group No. 8, National Assembly deputies of the National Assembly Delegation of Ca Mau province contributed many ideas to perfect legal policies in a practical, feasible, modern and humane direction.

Delegate Nguyen Duy Thanh: Need to decentralize more strongly and simplify procedures in the construction sector

Speaking at the group, delegate Nguyen Duy Thanh, Vice Chairman of the Ca Mau Province Business Association, member of the National Assembly's Economic and Financial Committee, emphasized: The current legal system on construction needs to continue to be reformed in the direction of streamlining, unifying and reducing administrative procedure costs for people and businesses.

Delegate Nguyen Duy Thanh gave comments on procedures for granting construction permits and exploiting sea sand materials for infrastructure.

Delegate Nguyen Duy Thanh proposed that the Law on Construction (amended) should supplement the regulation of a single focal point to receive and resolve construction permits, overcoming the overlapping situation between the Law on Urban Planning, the Law on Housing and the Law on Land. In particular, it is necessary to expand the mechanism of exemption from construction permits for projects with detailed planning 1/500, with approved basic designs to shorten project implementation time, reduce social costs, in line with the orientation of e- government and reform of the investment and business environment.

In addition, delegate Nguyen Duy Thanh also proposed a mechanism of "conditional construction permit debt" for investment projects of small and medium enterprises, to facilitate them to start construction and complete documents within a certain time limit. According to delegate Nguyen Duy Thanh, "this policy not only solves immediate difficulties for enterprises, but also promotes infrastructure development, creates jobs, and increases local budget revenue".

Regarding the field of mineral exploitation, delegate Nguyen Duy Thanh said that it is necessary to assess the potential for sea sand exploitation, build a strategic reserve of construction materials from sea sand, contribute to price stabilization, and ensure supply for key national infrastructure projects, especially highways and airports in the Mekong Delta.

Delegate Nguyen Huy Thai: The law must unleash resources for development and protect the ecological environment.

Delegate Nguyen Huy Thai, member of the Provincial Party Committee, Deputy Head of the Provincial Delegation of National Assembly Deputies, member of the National Assembly's Committee on Culture and Society, highly agreed with the necessity of promulgating the Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of laws in the fields of agriculture and environment. Delegate Nguyen Huy Thai said that this is a correct and timely step to remove more than 20 bottlenecks in legal regulations, in line with the spirit of Resolution No. 26-NQ/TW of the Central Executive Committee.

Referring to the Forestry Law, delegate Nguyen Huy Thai proposed to expand the scope of temporary forest use for the purpose of developing ecotourism, especially for localities with special natural conditions such as U Minh Ha (Ca Mau). According to delegate Nguyen Huy Thai: "In addition to protecting forests, it is necessary to allow reasonable exploitation of forest resources to serve ecotourism development, create livelihoods for people, and contribute to the sustainable conservation of forest ecosystems".

Delegate Nguyen Huy Thai spoke about protecting water resources and developing ecotourism associated with conserving U Minh Ha forest.

Regarding the Law on Water Resources, delegate Nguyen Huy Thai warned of the serious pollution of water sources in aquaculture and seafood processing areas. He pointed out the fact that many processing facilities still discharge untreated waste into the environment, "suffocating the river" and affecting people's lives. From there, he proposed to legislate a mechanism to inspect, monitor and strictly handle illegal discharges, considering this an "urgent requirement to protect water sources and livelihoods of people in the lower Mekong River region".

In addition, delegate Nguyen Huy Thai also proposed studying the legalization of the Strategy for sustainable marine aquaculture development, protecting surface soil resources and encouraging the use of organic fertilizers in agriculture to "enrich soil resources", a vital factor for national food security.

Delegate Dinh Ngoc Minh: Review planning and reduce social costs in law enforcement

Delegate Dinh Ngoc Minh, full-time member of the National Assembly's Economic and Financial Committee, emphasized the need to review and update agricultural land planning, to overcome the situation of "wrong zoning", which affects people's legal land use rights.

Delegate Dinh Ngoc Minh proposed reviewing agricultural land planning and reducing social costs in law enforcement.

Delegate Dinh Ngoc Minh proposed assigning the Prime Minister to direct a general review and reclassification of agricultural and mineral land areas, returning land use rights to people in cases of inaccurate planning; at the same time, recommending simplifying licensing procedures for mining common construction materials to reduce transportation costs and material prices, especially in mountainous and remote areas.

Regarding the Law on Environmental Protection, delegate Dinh Ngoc Minh proposed applying the mechanism of "polluters must pay", calculating wastewater treatment fees according to the principle of "buying 1 block of water - paying for the treatment of 1 block of wastewater", similar to the effective model of many developed countries.

Delegate Le Manh Hung: Perfecting the legal mechanism for green energy projects

Speaking on all three draft laws, delegate Le Manh Hung, Chairman of the Board of Members of the Vietnam National Energy and Industry Group, proposed adding regulations on integrated mineral exploitation with seabed energy in the Law on Geology and Minerals, in order to effectively exploit Vietnam's marine potential.

Delegate Le Manh Hung proposed perfecting the legal mechanism for green energy projects and marine mineral exploitation.

Regarding the Law on Environmental Protection, delegate Le Manh Hung proposed allowing flexibility in the time of approving environmental impact assessment (EIA) reports for industrial projects with technology transfer elements, to avoid overlap between technical and legal processes.

Regarding the Law on Construction (amended), delegate Le Manh Hung emphasized the need to add a provision on "Final Investment Decision" for large-scale energy projects to ensure risk control, in accordance with international practices and implementation practices.

Delegate Tran Thi Hoa Ry: It is necessary to ensure harmony between development and livelihoods of ethnic minorities.

Speaking at the group, delegate Tran Thi Hoa Ry, Vice Chairwoman of the National Assembly's Ethnic Council, proposed adding regulations on the role of ethnic minorities in managing, protecting and benefiting from forests, considering this a mandatory content in forestry planning.

Delegate Tran Thi Hoa Ry also proposed reviewing regulations on temporary forest use and conversion of forest use purposes to minimize adverse impacts on forest-dependent communities. In addition, regarding the Law on Environmental Protection, Delegate Tran Thi Hoa Ry proposed shortening the time to update the national climate change adaptation plan, from a 5-year cycle to a regular, continuous one, with the application of artificial intelligence and digital transformation.

In addition, delegate Tran Thi Hoa Ry requested the drafting agency to develop a planning map and database of areas allowed to dump materials at sea, ensuring transparency, science and ecological safety.

Delegate Tran Thi Hoa Ry spoke about sustainable livelihoods of ethnic minorities and marine environment management.

Opinions of National Assembly deputies of the Ca Mau Provincial National Assembly Delegation at the group discussion session on the morning of November 6 with the desire to contribute to the National Assembly in perfecting institutions, promoting economic development associated with environmental protection, towards the goal of stable and long-term development for the country

Source: https://www.camau.gov.vn/thoi-su-chinh-tri/de-xuat-hoan-thien-chinh-sach-khai-thac-tai-nguyen-bao-ve-moi-truong-va-cai-cach-thu-tuc-xay-dun-290578