Journey to create new countryside - Part 1: "Necessity is the mother of invention"

(QBĐT) - Starting to build a new rural area (NTM), many localities in Quang Binh have a low starting point; many criteria have changed and improved over many stages, making it more difficult for localities on the journey to reach the NTM destination. With the efforts, determination, and consensus of the Party Committee, the government, and all the people, new and prosperous rural areas are emerging day by day. People are living in livable villages with all the essential facilities and a green, clean, and beautiful environment created by themselves.

On the journey to build a new rural area, localities must go through many stages, implementing sets of criteria to strive to reach the new rural area, advanced new rural area, and model new rural area. Although many criteria are difficult to implement, it seems that localities will not be able to complete them. However, under the flexible and practical leadership and direction of local Party committees and authorities, difficult criteria are gradually resolved, creating conditions for localities to reach the new rural area on schedule.

When new rural criteria make it difficult for localities

When the New Rural Development Criteria for the 2021-2025 period was issued, many localities that had previously reached the New Rural Development target or were selected to strive to achieve advanced New Rural Development standards and model New Rural Development standards were at risk of falling short of the standard and not completing the set roadmap. The reason was that this new set of criteria had more advanced content than the previous old set of criteria. This became a challenge and the goal of building a New Rural Development seemed to be quite a distant path for many localities.

Thanks to flexible leadership, Vinh Ninh commune ( Quang Ninh ) has completed the advanced new rural criteria.

Quang Hai is one of the sandbank communes in the difficult area of ​​Ba Don town. Starting to build a new rural area with a low starting point in terms of economy and a high rate of poor households, however, determining that building a new rural area is one of the important and urgent tasks, the local government and all the people have united to build the criteria. In 2016, the commune completed the criteria to reach the new rural area and by the end of 2022, Quang Hai was the first locality in the province to submit a request for recognition as an advanced new rural commune.

Previously, the People's Committee of Ba Don Town had examined the results of building advanced new rural areas and recognized Quang Hai commune as meeting 19/19 criteria. However, according to the set of criteria for advanced new rural areas in the 2021-2025 period of the province, the relevant departments and branches assessed that Quang Hai commune had not yet met a number of criteria to be recognized as advanced new rural areas; including the content of criterion 17.10 on the rate of cremation equal to or more than 5%.

A local leader said that Quang Hai is a purely agricultural commune, and the use of cremation is a new concept to most people. For generations, people here have used traditional burial methods. Currently, the locality does not have a suitable cremation facility. Therefore, achieving a 5% rate of using this method is very difficult and impossible.

Not only does criterion 17.10 make it difficult for communes, but some other advanced criteria also make many localities struggle to re-implement.

Vinh Ninh commune used to be one of the first localities in Quang Ninh district to meet the NTM standards and was selected to build an advanced NTM commune. However, after the NTM criteria for the 2021-2025 period were issued, some of the criteria that previously met the NTM standards are now not met. This not only makes it difficult for the roadmap to reach the advanced NTM finish line, but the commune is also at risk of falling short of the NTM standard. Chairman of Vinh Ninh Commune People's Committee Do Muoi said: Regarding the criteria for the commune meeting the NTM standards, at the time of issuing the new set of criteria, the commune reviewed and found 3 criteria that were not met, including the difficult criterion of the rate of households using centralized clean water. However, most people in the commune use drilled water sources. For the criteria for the advanced NTM commune, the content of the local cremation criteria is also difficult to implement to reach the finish line on schedule.

Flexible in direction

The set of criteria for the new rural development in the 2021-2025 period has increased in both content and quality, with many criteria requiring high and difficult requirements. This not only slows down the progress of the new rural communes, but also makes it difficult for many potential communes to achieve the advanced new rural standards and model new rural standards on schedule.

Chairman of the People's Committee of Vinh Ninh Commune (Quang Ninh) Do Muoi said: After the adjustment, the cremation rate has not been applied to the locality. For difficult criteria, the province has also been flexible in allowing the locality to commit to implementing them in the coming time, thereby helping the locality complete the criteria for building new rural areas and advanced new rural areas. Currently, the commune has submitted its documents and has been reviewed and approved by the appraisal council and recognized as a commune meeting advanced new rural standards.

Deputy Chief of the Office for Coordinating New Rural Areas, Deputy Head of the Provincial Department of Economic Cooperation and Rural Development Nguyen Quoc Tuan said: The national set of criteria for New Rural Areas for the 2021-2025 period and the set of criteria for New Rural Areas for the 2021-2025 period of the province have more advanced criteria than before, especially the criteria on clean water, the rate of cremation... These are rigid criteria prescribed by the Central Government, therefore, in the past, many communes have had difficulty meeting these contents to meet the standards of advanced New Rural Areas and model New Rural Areas. Based on understanding and listening to the difficulties and problems that localities are facing in the process of implementing the criteria for building New Rural Areas, the departments and branches have advised the Provincial People's Committee to proactively propose to the central ministries and branches to adjust or have solutions to remove the difficult criteria of localities, especially criteria such as: The rate of households using clean water according to standards; Percentage of population with electronic medical records; percentage of population using cremation...

On March 1, 2024, the Prime Minister issued Decision No. 211/QD-TTg amending a number of criteria and targets of the National Criteria Set for New Rural Communes, the National Criteria Set for Advanced New Rural Communes...

Determining that building a new rural area is an important task of the entire political system and society, in which farmers are the subjects, directly implementing and benefiting, therefore, the new rural area criteria must be built to better serve the material and spiritual life of the people. For that reason, the Provincial People's Committee also requested departments and branches to review the issued mechanisms and policies, study related regulations to advise the Provincial People's Committee to amend and supplement to ensure suitability.

Accordingly, for the two criteria that many localities are having trouble with in the roadmap to build new rural areas and advanced new rural areas, which are the rate of cremation, which is not yet mandatory for localities; for the rate of households using clean water, based on the development of an implementation project and commitment to connecting to have a rate of households using clean water from centralized works, the province has recognized the achieved level and given localities more time to continue implementing.

Thanks to the flexibility in directing the implementation of criteria by local Party committees and authorities, communes have overcome difficulties and barriers to complete the criteria and been recognized as meeting the standards of new rural areas, advanced new rural areas, and model new rural areas.

D. Nguyet

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Source: https://baoquangbinh.vn/kinh-te/202506/hanh-trinh-kien-tao-nong-thon-moi-bai-1-cai-kho-lo-cai-khon-2226727/