Removing obstacles to continue the reorganization of district and commune-level administrative units.

National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man has just signed and issued a Resolution of the National Assembly Standing Committee stipulating a number of contents related to ensuring the requirements for urban classification and standards of administrative units for the rearrangement of district and commune-level administrative units in the 2023-2025 period.

The new regulations, effective from August 29, 2024, are expected to address some of the current obstacles and difficulties faced by agencies and localities, aiming to accelerate implementation and reduce the time required to complete the necessary steps.

Strictly implement the requirements for urban classification and assessment, as a basis for rearranging administrative units at the district and commune levels.

Use appropriate planning

According to the resolution, in cases where a city or town is reorganized with all or part of an adjacent district-level administrative unit, and the scope of the reorganization is consistent with the approved general urban and surrounding area plan, that plan may be used to classify the urban area.

In cases where the formation of a town is anticipated during the administrative reorganization, the approved general urban planning task or the provincial planning document, provided that the planning document clearly defines the scope of the town to be formed after the reorganization, may be used to review and evaluate the criteria for urban classification as a basis for preparing the administrative reorganization plan for the district and commune levels of the locality.

If the town proposed to be formed after the reorganization is located within the inner city area defined in the approved general urban plan for a type IV urban area, then that plan shall be used to classify the town proposed to be formed after the reorganization.

According to Minister of Construction Nguyen Thanh Nghi, with the issuance of the resolution, the number of urban administrative units eligible for urban administrative unit restructuring is expected to support approximately more than 30 towns, 8 wards, and 1 city.

The resolution also states that, during the process of urban classification procedures, reviewing urban classification criteria, and assessing the level of urban infrastructure development, if it is deemed possible to meet all legal regulations regarding urban classification criteria and standards for urban infrastructure development, it may be included as an option in the local administrative unit rearrangement plan at the district and commune levels.

In particular, the preparation, appraisal, and review of proposals for the reorganization of district and commune-level administrative units are carried out concurrently with the procedures for urban classification (for cities, towns, and townships), review of urban classification criteria (for cities and towns), and assessment of the level of urban infrastructure development (for areas where wards are planned to be established). This is considered a simplification of procedures and processes.

Do not evaluate certain standards.

The resolution stipulates that when rearranging district and commune-level administrative units during the 2023-2025 period, the provisions set forth in this resolution shall be applied to consider and assess whether the urban administrative units formed after the rearrangement meet the standards.

Specifically, the criteria for socio -economic development structure and level, and the criteria for urban infrastructure development level, will not be assessed for wards and districts formed after reorganization in cases where the entire area or population size of a ward is merged with another ward, or a district is partially adjusted.

The standards of a subordinate ward will not be evaluated if that ward has not undergone any changes in administrative boundaries during the restructuring of urban administrative units at the district level.

There is no need to conduct an assessment or recognition of urban infrastructure development standards for the town slated to be established as a ward in cases where the rearrangement of district-level urban administrative units involves expansion of the inner city or town center in accordance with the approved urban plan;

In cases where a commune subject to reorganization has been identified as being within the inner city or urban area of ​​a city or town as defined in the decision recognizing its urban classification, and can only be merged into a ward because it cannot be reorganized with any other rural administrative unit, then the urban classification criteria for the city or town do not need to be assessed, nor is the infrastructure development standard for the ward formed after reorganization required to be evaluated; if the inner city or urban area is not clearly defined in the decision recognizing its urban classification, then the approved urban master plan shall be used as a basis.

When assessing the standards for the structure and level of socio-economic development of areas proposed for the establishment of districts and wards in administrative units without local government levels, the budget balance indicator is not evaluated.

In cases where the restructuring plan has been appraised before August 29, 2024, the provisions of this resolution shall be applied to supplement and finalize the plan dossier to be submitted to the Government and the Standing Committee of the National Assembly.

Agencies, organizations, and localities that have conducted reviews, assessments, and classifications of urban areas, and surveyed and appraised the plan for rearranging administrative units at the district and commune levels for the period 2023-2025 in accordance with the provisions of this resolution, may continue to use the results to supplement and finalize the plan dossier to be submitted to the competent authority as prescribed.

Source: https://vov.vn/chinh-polit/go-vuong-de-tiep-tiep-sap-xep-don-vi-hanh-chinh-cap-huyen-xa-post1118572.vov