Households in Hoang Mai town had their land confiscated for 16 years but have not received compensation.

Lost land because of going far away to work

For more than four years now, Le Thi Nhung and her son in village 8, Quynh Loc commune, Hoang Mai town have sent dozens of petitions requesting compensation after their agricultural land was confiscated to build a factory, but so far there have been no results. “I am very tired. Now my health is poor and I am no longer clear-headed, so I asked my son to go and collect it for me,” said Ms. Nhung.

Ms. Nhung's son, Mr. Nguyen Duc Cuong (40 years old), said that in 1997, due to difficult circumstances, his whole family went to the South to make a living and had to abandon the house. At that time, the family had 2 agricultural plots divided according to Decree 64 of the Government , including a plot of land with an area of ^636m2 in Dong Dau and another plot of ^435m2 in Dong Den. Because they had to work far away, the family asked their neighbor, Mr. Le Dang Hung (also living in village 8), to look after and cultivate the agricultural land.

“During the years in the South, we never received any notice about land acquisition for factory construction. We thought our land in the countryside was still there,” said Mr. Cuong.

After many years of making a living abroad, in 2021, Cuong and his mother returned to their hometown to live. At this time, the family learned that two fertile rice fields had long been leveled to make way for an industrial park. Immediately after that, Cuong and his mother began filing complaints to claim their rights. However, the case has not yet been resolved.

Ms. Le Thi Nhung returned to her hometown after many years of making a living in the South. Photo: Tien Hung

According to the reporter's investigation, the government has carried out procedures to confirm the origin of Ms. Nhung's two agricultural plots for compensation and recovery since 2009. Of which, the plot of land in Dong Den was initially declared as Mr. Le Dang Hung's land so that this person could receive compensation. The plot of land in Dong Dau was declared as 5% land so that the People's Committee of Quynh Loc commune could receive compensation.

In 2021, after returning to her hometown and filing a complaint, the land plot in Dong Dau was re-adjusted to the compensation beneficiary from the Commune People's Committee to Ms. Nhung. Currently, her family has received more than 100 million VND. However, the compensation for the land plot in Dong Den has not been seen yet.

Mr. Nguyen Van Thao - Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of Quynh Loc commune said that when Ms. Nhung's land was confiscated in 2009, he was the Head of the People's Inspectorate of the commune, assigned to review the documents to proceed with compensation.

“At that time, the compensation records were very loose. It was clear that Mrs. Nhung’s land was lent to Mr. Hung for cultivation, but the village chief made a record of it as Mr. Hung’s land so that he could receive compensation. Because I was a villager, I knew it well and promptly reported it to stop it. This is not the only case like that,” said Mr. Thao. Because of Mr. Thao’s discovery, Mr. Le Dang Hung was later only compensated for the assets on the land, which were the crops he had cultivated. As for the land, compensation has not been carried out to this day.

Mr. Cuong holds in his hand the complaint forms demanding compensation. Photo: Tien Hung

Struggling to find a solution

Regarding Ms. Nhung's case, Mr. Ho Quoc Uy - Chairman of the People's Committee of Quynh Loc commune said that since 2022, the commune has repeatedly issued documents and clearly reported that Ms. Nhung's land plot was divided according to Decree 64 and has been recovered but not yet compensated.

“I also don’t know how the town People’s Committee is handling the matter, because there is no response. Only once did they say that it had been transferred to the inspectorate for handling. Our responsibility is to protect the rights of the people, and we hope to handle the matter soon so that Ms. Nhung can receive compensation. As for the procedures and confirmation of land origin, they have been in place since 2009, so I don’t know how the commune leaders did it at that time,” said Mr. Uy.

After many years of receiving complaints, the Compensation, Support and Resettlement Council of Hoang Mai town recently responded in writing to Mr. Nguyen Duc Cuong. Accordingly, after checking and reviewing the documents, the Compensation, Support and Resettlement Council of the town said that it had received a report from the People's Committee of Quynh Loc commune about Ms. Le Thi Nhung's household whose land was recovered to carry out site clearance for the Hoang Mai 1 Industrial Park Project from 2022. In which, the People's Committee of Quynh Loc commune confirmed: "The land plot in Dong Den is land 64CP allocated to Ms. Le Thi Nhung's household (listed in the land allocation book 64). But the Land Recovery Decision No. 9059/QD-UBND dated December 31, 2009 is in the name of Le Dang Hung, village 8, Quynh Loc commune, Hoang Mai town.

In the project site clearance dossier provided by Hoang Thinh Dat Joint Stock Company: On December 31, 2009, the People's Committee of Quynh Luu district issued Decision No. 9059/QD-UBND on land recovery in Quynh Loc commune to implement the Hoang Mai Industrial Park infrastructure investment and business project (phase 11), in which the entire area of this land plot was recovered but under the name of Mr. Le Dang Hung, village 8, Quynh Loc commune. On August 9, 2010, the People's Committee of Quynh Luu district issued a Decision on approving the detailed plan for compensation, support and resettlement for the Hoang Mai Industrial Park infrastructure investment and business project. In which, the plan for compensation and support for assets such as trees and crops for Mr. Le Dang Hung was approved for nearly 12 million VND (land compensation has not been shown).

Mrs. Nhung's land is located in an industrial park. Photo: Tien Hung

“Thus, the determination of the land user of plot No. 2474, map sheet 234 in Official Dispatch No. 400/UBND dated May 11, 2022 of the People's Committee of Quynh Loc commune is not the same as the user as the content of Decision No. 9059/QP-UBND dated December 31, 2009 of the People's Committee of Quynh Luu district. On the other hand, the compensation records for land acquisition and clearance carried out by Quynh Luu district from 2009 to present are not guaranteed, the storage of records in Hoang Mai town has not been handed over, so currently the compensation and support records for this case are incomplete,” the response document of this council stated.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Mai - Head of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment and Vice Chairman of the Compensation, Support and Resettlement Council of Hoang Mai town said that Ms. Nhung's case has been reviewed by the local authorities.

“Ms. Nhung went to the South and had 2 plots of land that were recovered since 2009 but did not receive compensation. After getting involved, we discovered that one plot was recorded as 5% of the commune's land for the commune People's Committee to receive money, so we adjusted it to Ms. Nhung's land, which Ms. Nhung is currently enjoying. The remaining plot's records were incomplete, so there was no basis to resolve the matter for her,” Ms. Mai said, adding that regarding this remaining plot of land, on September 12, 2024, the People's Committee of Hoang Mai town sent an official dispatch requesting the People's Committee of Quynh Luu district to provide documents related to the issuance of the Decision on land recovery and compensation for site clearance of Ms. Le Thi Nhung's household. But up to now, nearly 8 months have passed, and Hoang Mai town has not yet received a response document from the People's Committee of Quynh Luu district. Therefore, the Town Compensation, Support and Resettlement Council has no basis to comment on whether the established compensation plan is correct or not in accordance with regulations./.

Source: https://baonghean.vn/ho-dan-o-thi-xa-hoang-mai-bi-thu-hoi-dat-16-nam-nhung-chua-duoc-nhan-den-bu-10296659.html