Clarifying criteria and conditions for decentralization and delegation of authority in the fields of construction and transportation

Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha: Determining the tasks and authorities retained at the central level (Government, Prime Minister, ministers) requires a theoretical and practical basis and clear selection criteria - Photo: VGP/Minh Khoi

Create maximum initiative for locality

According to the report of the Ministry of Construction , the total number of documents reviewed is 594. The total number of documents proposed to handle the implementation of decentralization, delegation of authority, and division of authority is 66 documents (including 9 laws, 1 resolution of the National Assembly Standing Committee, 28 decrees, 1 decision of the Prime Minister, and 27 circulars).

Minister of Construction Tran Hong Minh said that the draft Decree on the delimitation of authority of local authorities will transfer 90 tasks from the district level to the commune level, transfer 1 task to the provincial level, and decentralize 1 task from the Provincial People's Committee to the Department of Construction.

In the field of construction and transportation, the Ministry of Construction proposed decentralizing and delegating 21 authorities of the Government and the Prime Minister to ministers; 3 authorities of the Government and the Prime Minister to local authorities; decentralizing 28 authorities of the Minister of Construction and specialized agencies under the Ministry of Construction to local authorities.

The Ministry of Construction has researched, thoroughly reviewed, and proposed thorough decentralization and delegation of authority to create initiative for localities and reduce pressure on the Prime Minister. After implementing decentralization and delegation of authority, only some contents and tasks of a general nature and system safety will be retained for the Central Government to perform, such as: National railway infrastructure, technical and specialized contents that cannot be delegated to localities, tasks related to national defense and security, such as airspace management, and authorities according to international treaties; in some areas, only 1-2 tasks will be retained for the Central Government to perform, such as the road sector (only managing a number of specific national highways).

Minister of Construction Tran Hong Minh speaks at the meeting - Photo: VGP/Minh Khoi

In the field of urban and rural planning, 4 tasks of the Prime Minister will be decentralized to local authorities; 1 task of the Prime Minister will be assigned to the Ministry of National Defense and the Ministry of Public Security; 5 tasks of the Minister of Construction will be assigned to local authorities; 14 tasks of the district level will be transferred to the commune level, 1 task will be transferred to the Department of Construction, and 1 task will be transferred to the Provincial People's Committee.

After implementing decentralization and delegation of authority, the Ministry of Construction will mainly perform state management tasks (developing plans, strategies, developing legal documents, mechanisms, policies, standards, technical regulations, economic-technical norms, performing inspection and supervision functions...). Localities have the right to proactively decide on tasks in their management areas, without having to ask for opinions or report to the Government, Prime Minister, or Ministry for decentralized tasks, ensuring compliance with the direction of the Party and Government leaders.

The meeting was connected online to localities across the country - Photo: VGP/Minh Khoi

Discussing at the meeting, leaders of ministries and sectors said that it is necessary to develop clear criteria and conditions to determine which tasks should be retained at the central level and which tasks should be decentralized to localities, avoiding arbitrariness, ensuring efficiency and having a clear legal basis. However, each sector and field has its own characteristics, so it is necessary to develop specific and appropriate decentralization criteria, avoiding arbitrariness, ensuring efficiency and avoiding causing difficulties for localities.

Leaders of some localities focused on giving opinions related to decentralization and delegation of power to the commune level in performing new tasks in the fields of construction, housing management, traffic infrastructure, urban areas...; proposed specific instructions on conditions for implementation, especially instructions on job positions for specialized units at the commune/ward level...

Vice Chairman of Hanoi People's Committee Duong Duc Tuan said that these are very important decrees, especially when organizing local government according to the new model, but they are also very complicated, related to decentralization, delegation of power, demarcation, and determination of boundaries of authority levels.

Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha noted that regulations on decentralization and delegation of authority in the fields of construction and transportation also need to be consistent with financial and investment mechanisms and policies - Photo: VGP/Minh Khoi

Ensure continuity, inheritance and avoid stagnation, gaps or blockages

Concluding the meeting, the Deputy Prime Minister requested the Ministry of Construction to continue to complete the draft decrees, clearly defining the scope of decentralization and delegation of authority from the authority of the Government, Prime Minister and Ministers to the local level, or from the Government, Prime Minister to ministers, avoiding overlap or leaving gaps.

In particular, the Ministry of Construction must review and inherit appropriate contents on the division of authority, decentralization, and delegation of power that have been adjusted in relevant laws, such as the Law on Organization of Local Government, the Law on Organization of the Government... or laws that are being amended and supplemented and will take effect from July 1, 2025; not include in draft decrees tasks that have been decentralized and delegated.

The Deputy Prime Minister emphasized the need to clarify the difference between decentralization (a superior level assigns part of its authority to a subordinate level to implement, along with ensuring conditions and resources for implementation, such as planning, regulations, standards, technical norms, inspection, assessment and monitoring tools, etc.) and decentralization (giving full authority to a subordinate level to decide, act and take responsibility for itself).

According to the Deputy Prime Minister, there needs to be a general guideline, general and sector-specific criteria and conditions on decentralization and delegation of power issued by the Ministry of Justice or the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Determining the tasks and authorities retained at the central level (Government, Prime Minister, Ministers) needs to have a theoretical and practical basis, clear selection criteria such as issues related to national defense and security, key national projects, key technology projects or inter-provincial, inter-sectoral, international projects... the rest is decentralized and delegated to the maximum local level.

"Regulations on decentralization and delegation of power in the fields of construction and transportation also need to be consistent with financial and investment mechanisms and policies," the Deputy Prime Minister noted.

The Deputy Prime Minister requested the Ministry of Construction to take into account the opinions of localities and continue to supplement and clarify a number of specific principles and criteria to determine tasks retained at the provincial level, such as: Projects being implemented under target programs that were previously assigned to the district level; projects with inter-commune scope; some administrative procedures previously assigned to the district level but requiring high technical requirements, needing a team of qualified staff, infrastructure, such as offices, technical centers, etc.; or management areas requiring facilities and staff capacity, such as disease prevention, natural disasters, floods and storms, or related to national defense and security, must comply with current regulations.

"Decentralization and delegation of power must ensure continuity and inheritance and avoid stagnation, gaps or bottlenecks in performing tasks at the local level," said the Deputy Prime Minister, who assigned localities to carefully review and focus on contributing opinions on the contents of decentralization and delegation of power, both in terms of legal basis and implementation conditions.

Minh Khoi

Source: https://baochinhphu.vn/lam-ro-tieu-chi-dieu-kien-phan-cap-phan-quyen-trong-linh-vuc-xay-dung-giao-thong-102250522195543866.htm