Urban Area Project No. 1, Thai Dao Commune, Lang Giang District: "Delayed" due to land clearance problems

Although this investment policy was approved by the People's Committee of Bac Giang province in 2020 and the implementation period is expected to end in 2026. However, up to now, the land acquisition to hand over the clean site to the enterprise has not been implemented, the reason is that there are still more than 30 households who have not agreed on the compensation price and because they do not fully understand the project being acquired by the state. This causes difficulties for enterprises, local authorities as well as the completion of the goal of creating a livable urban appearance for Lang Giang district in particular and Bac Giang province in general.

The basis for forming a modern urban area

The Urban Area No. 1 Project in Thai Dao Commune is a project approved by the People's Committee of Bac Giang province in accordance with Decision No. 625/QD-UBND dated July 17, 2020 and Decision No. 458/QD-UBND dated May 6, 2021 on approving the adjustment of the Investment Policy of the Urban Area No. 1 Project in Thai Dao Commune, Lang Giang District (due to changes in investment policies at that time).

Decision approving the policy of the People's Committee of Bac Giang province for the project of Urban Area No. 1, Thai Dao commune, Lang Giang district

The project's objective is to synchronously construct new technical infrastructure works within the project boundary according to the detailed construction plan 1/500 approved by Lang Giang District People's Committee in Decision No. 363/QD-UBND dated March 8, 2019, adjusted in Decision No. 220/QD-UBND dated April 7, 2020.

The project investment scale is about 9.9 hectares, including: Leveling, traffic system, water supply, rainwater drainage, wastewater drainage, electricity supply and lighting, communications, parking lots, green parks, landscape trees, isolation to create the basis for forming a modern urban area, ensuring environmental and landscape requirements, meeting all housing needs, actively contributing to the housing development program of Lang Giang in particular and Bac Giang province in general.

The total investment capital of the project is over 113 billion VND. The project's operation period is not more than 5 years from the effective date of the contract. Time for carrying out procedures on land, construction and construction works: 24 months from the effective date of the contract. The investor is allocated land to implement the project in the form of collecting land use fees for 220 adjacent residential plots (land, not built in the rough) from LK-01 to LK-20 with a total area of 21,460.34 m2. The order and procedures for land allocation are carried out in accordance with the provisions of current law and the Provincial People's Committee at the time of preparing the dossier...

This project is invested by the Joint Venture of Northwest Region 4 Investment Joint Stock Company - Northwest Group Joint Stock Company.

Need to understand correctly and fully about the state's land acquisition policies and projects

As soon as the project was approved for investment, determining that ensuring the legitimate and legal rights and interests of the people is an important step in the project's site clearance, Lang Giang district authorities and branches issued a plan and established a Steering Committee to organize and implement procedures for land recovery, compensation, and site clearance support to ensure publicity, democracy, and compliance with the law.

Plan for land acquisition, compensation, and site clearance support when the State acquires land to implement urban area project No. 1, Thai Dao commune, Lang Giang district, phase 1 of Lang Giang district People's Committee.

According to the plan, the locality is expected to hand over the cleared land to the enterprise to implement the project in 2022, but up to now this handover has not been possible because up to now, there are still more than 30 households that have not agreed on the compensation price. Many people do not understand the nature of the project because the state reclaims land and hands it over to the enterprise, not because the land is "sold" by the local government to the enterprise, so the enterprise must negotiate the compensation price with the people.

Chairman of Thai Dao Commune People's Committee Ha Manh Quan answers the interview. Photo: Do Quan

To understand this issue more thoroughly, we had a discussion with the Chairman of Thai Dao Commune People's Committee, Ha Manh Quan, who admitted: Since the project was approved for investment, nearly 90% of households with land in the project have agreed to receive compensation for land acquisition and compensation. However, there are still about 30 households in Then and Ghep villages who have not agreed, causing difficulties in land acquisition, compensation, and land acquisition. The reason given by the people is that the compensation price is low.

“Some people do not understand the project correctly and fully. This is a project in which the State reclaims land for socio -economic development for the national and public interest. Compensation and support when the State reclaims land from households and individuals must be implemented in accordance with the law. However, many people believe that this project is in the category of enterprises negotiating compensation with the people, which causes many difficulties and hinders the completion of site clearance work,” Mr. Quan shared.

To solve this problem, the local government has proposed many solutions. In particular, the locality has established specialized working groups to review each specific case. Organize direct meetings and dialogues with individual cases to disseminate information and grasp the thoughts and aspirations of affected households.

The Urban Area No. 1 project in Thai Dao commune cannot be implemented due to problems with land acquisition and clearance. Photo: Do Quan

During the implementation of land acquisition and clearance, the investor has regularly coordinated with the locality to meet with the people, grasp and resolve their aspirations. However, up to now, some households still disagree with the policy and still think that the compensation price is low and require the enterprise to negotiate the compensation price with the people...

To remove the bottleneck in this land clearance work , the commune is still mobilizing and propagating according to the latest land law for households that have not agreed to hand over the land so that people can better understand the policy. At the same time, the commune has also made a report to the District People's Committee to propose a solution for households that have not handed over the land... The commune strives to complete the land clearance work to hand over to enterprises by the end of 2025, early 2026.

"The local government also hopes that people will accompany, share and comply with current policies and laws so that the project can be implemented and completed soon, creating a highlight for Thai Dao commune, as well as contributing to Thai Dao completing the goal of building Thai Dao commune to meet the standards of a type V urban area by 2030...

Sharing the difficulties in site clearance at Urban Area No. 1, Thai Dao Commune, Director of Lang Giang District Land Fund Development Center Nguyen Van Nam said that in the past time, the district has actively done a good job of site clearance and received a relatively high consensus from the people. However, for this project, there are still some households that do not agree with the State's policies and guidelines on compensation plans. In the coming time, the district and the district's specialized departments will coordinate with the People's Committee of Thai Dao Commune to continue to propagate and mobilize families and individuals. However, if people still show non-compliance with the provisions of the law on site clearance plans, it will be necessary to organize a compulsory inventory decision for families and individuals with agricultural land that do not comply with the policies and guidelines for land recovery according to regulations to hand over to investors according to the provisions of the law.

It can be said that the Urban Area Project No. 1 in Thai Dao Commune, Lang Giang is a project that promises to bring modern life in all aspects, meeting standards in structure, urban indicators, synchronous and modern infrastructure for residents of Thai Dao Commune and neighboring areas, contributing positively to the development not only of Thai Dao Commune, or of Lang Giang District and of Bac Giang Province in general.

Therefore, local authorities, businesses and public opinion expect that the site clearance work at the project will soon have positive changes. To achieve this goal, in addition to the determination of the authorities, it is necessary to have understanding, sharing and cooperation from the affected people, not to be provoked, enticed, misunderstand, or distort the province's general development policy for new urban and residential areas. Only when there is a high consensus, can the project overcome current barriers and soon enter the construction phase, realizing the expectation of a civilized and modern living space for the people.