Urban planning responds to the two-tier local government model

Mr. Pham Tai Anh, Head of the Department of Architectural Planning and Urban Development, said: The Law on Urban and Rural Planning takes effect from July 1, 2025, clearly decentralizing and delegating power to the provincial and communal levels. The Department of Construction has urgently researched and issued Instruction No. 2401/HD-SXD dated July 11, 2025 on the process of making, appraising and approving general commune planning, detailing each step of implementation. The Department has organized training and guidance on state management in the field of construction for nearly 200 commune and ward officials and civil servants. Advised the Provincial People's Committee to approve the Plan for making urban and rural planning of Son La province for the period 2025 - 2030 in Decision No. 1820/QD-UBND dated July 18, 2025.

After the reorganization, Son La province currently has 75 commune-level units, including: 67 communes and 8 wards. Of which, 7 communes are not reorganized, including: Muong Lan, Phieng Khoai, Suoi To, Ngoc Chien, Tan Yen, Muong Bam, Muong Leo. Based on the review and study of the actual situation, the urban and rural planning for the period 2025-2030 is clearly defined, with priority given to general planning for 61/75 communes and wards. Regarding the roadmap, the province plans to complete 51 priority projects by 2026 and the remaining 10 projects in the period 2028-2030.

The Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee held a meeting to deploy the adjustment of the Son La Provincial Planning for the period 2021 - 2030, with a vision to 2050.

To date, 37/51 communes have submitted task files and budget estimates for the General Planning of the commune to the Department of Construction. Of these, 12/37 communes are in the process of asking for opinions from departments and branches; 3/37 communes have received and revised task files and 22/37 communes have had their budget estimates for planning and planning adjustment files reviewed by the Provincial Planning Council; planning tasks, urban and rural planning under the approval authority of the Provincial People's Committee held an appraisal meeting on December 4. According to the plan, the appraisal of the general planning tasks of all communes is expected to be completed in December 2025.

The decentralization and authorization in the Law on Urban and Rural Planning brings great initiative and authority to the commune level, helping the planning management work to be closer to the practical basis. Mr. Duong Gia Dinh, Chairman of the People's Committee of Binh Thuan commune, said: Binh Thuan commune was merged from Chieng Pha and Phong Lai, requiring planning adjustments and handling of land and construction procedures. After being decentralized to manage planning, the commune urgently reviewed existing records and made a list of adjustments. At the same time, it completed the task of establishing the general planning of Binh Thuan commune until 2045 and submitted it to the Department of Construction for appraisal. The commune also regularly inspected and monitored construction activities; promptly proposed local adjustments to inadequate areas; focused on managing and maintaining technical infrastructure. Thanks to that, planning management work has become more organized, construction order has changed positively, and land encroachment has been reduced.

The Department of Construction trains and guides cadres and civil servants of communes on the implementation of establishing, appraising and approving general planning.

Although the province has proactively implemented planning work according to the 2-level model, it still faces difficulties, such as: Large planning volume, financial pressure due to adjustment of survey and boundary marking costs. The capacity of commune-level officials is limited in both quantity and expertise, as many communes lack specialized planning officials. Although the commune level is assigned the task of managing, inspecting and monitoring the current status, it does not have the authority to approve planning or grant construction permits, leading to delays in handling actual situations, causing difficulties for people because they have to wait for opinions from the provincial level. In addition, planning and digitization records are not synchronized after the merger; many boundary markers are no longer accurate...

To improve the efficiency and quality of urban and rural planning and management, the Department of Construction continues to advise the Provincial People's Committee to promptly issue directives and guidance documents, complete the legal basis and ensure compliance with the decentralization and delegation mechanism according to the 2-level local government model. Urge and guide communes and wards to implement the Urban and Rural Planning Plan for the period 2025-2030 with high requirements on quality and synchronization. At the same time, take the lead in updating the planning database system, providing online information; adjusting development programs and plans, recalculating the "urbanization rate" index in accordance with reality; organizing regular training and professional development, closely following new laws and modern technology, to improve the capacity of the staff working in planning management at the grassroots level.

Source: https://baosonla.vn/kinh-te/quy-hoach-do-thi-dap-ung-voi-mo-hinh-chinh-quyen-dia-phuong-2-cap-wNuxWWMDR.html