The Standing Committee of the Provincial People's Council held a hearing on resolving the shortage of land, housing, and clean water in ethnic minority and mountainous areas.

This is one of the projects under the National Target Program for Socio -Economic Development of Ethnic Minority and Mountainous Regions for the period 2021-2030.

Overview of the hearing. Photo: Thanh Duy

Comrades Thai Thanh Quy - Member of the Central Committee of the Party, Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of the Provincial People's Council, Head of the Provincial Delegation of National Assembly Deputies; Nguyen Nam Dinh - Member of the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee, Permanent Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Council; and Nguyen Nhu Khoi - Member of the Provincial Party Committee, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Council, co-chaired the meeting.

Attending the working session were Comrade Vo Thi Minh Sinh - Member of the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairwoman of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of Nghe An province; Bui Dinh Long - Member of the Provincial Party Committee, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee; Thai Thi An Chung - Member of the Provincial Party Committee, Deputy Head of the Provincial National Assembly Delegation; along with leaders of the Provincial People's Council Committees, a number of delegate groups, departments, agencies, and relevant localities.

SLOW DISBURSEMENT SPEED

For Project 1, phase 2021-2025, the central government's allocated capital plan (including development investment capital and recurrent expenditure capital) for Nghe An is projected to be over 340.6 billion VND. Of this, the budget allocated for 2022 and 2023 is 147.015 billion VND (including 1.789 billion VND in counterpart funding from the province).

Vice Chairman of the Nghe An Provincial People's Council Nguyen Nhu Khoi raises the issue at the explanatory session. Photo: Thanh Duy

However, according to the assessment of the Ethnic Affairs Committee of the Provincial People's Council, the implementation of Project 1 is generally still behind schedule. The central government allocated over 145 billion VND in 2022 and 2023, but only over 35 billion VND (24.35%) has been disbursed as of the reporting date.

In addition, the project's documentation and appraisal process is slow; the number of surveyed households needing residential and production land is low; and the disbursement rate for vocational retraining support is very low (8.36%).

Ms. Lo Thi Kim Ngan, Head of the Ethnic Affairs Committee of the Provincial People's Council, presents the assessment report of the Provincial People's Committee on the implementation of Project 1. Photo: Thanh Duy

The process of advising on and issuing decisions and regulations on land allocation for residential land and average land allocation for production land, to serve as a basis for implementing support programs for policy beneficiaries, has been slow to be implemented.

Coordination among departments, agencies, and localities is not yet close or timely; the number of staff in the Investment and Construction Project Management Board is insufficient and lacking in expertise; administrative reform and procedures remain cumbersome.

Provincial People's Council representative Trinh Van Nha - Chairman of Thanh Chuong District People's Committee, speaks during the questioning session. Photo: Thanh Duy

Inspection, monitoring, and guidance of localities in implementing the project have not been regular or timely. Data management, reporting procedures, and information dissemination in some localities have not been carried out seriously; and the dissemination and guidance on project implementation have been limited.

During the briefing session, delegates requested that the leaders of the Provincial Ethnic Affairs Committee explain and clarify the reasons for the aforementioned limitations, and propose solutions to accelerate the disbursement rate in the coming period.

Provincial People's Council representative Vo Thi Minh Sinh - Chairwoman of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of Nghe An province - speaks during the questioning session. Photo: Thanh Duy

The delegates also requested clarification on why, despite the high demand identified in the survey, the province only proposed providing housing land support to 31 households with a total funding of only 1.24 billion VND for the entire period of 2021-2025.

The Head of the Provincial Ethnic Affairs Committee, Vi Van Son, clarified the issues of concern to the delegates; in particular, he addressed the issue of reviewing the proposal process and compiling information to clearly explain why only 31 households received land support for the entire 2021-2025 period.

Vi Văn Sơn, Head of the Provincial Ethnic Affairs Committee, gives an explanation. Photo: Thành Duy

Speaking on behalf of the provincial People's Committee leadership, Vice Chairman Bui Dinh Long acknowledged that after three years of implementing Project 1, a series of difficulties and limitations have emerged, most notably the inability to disburse the funds.

The leaders of the Nghe An Provincial People's Committee frankly stated that while there were many objective reasons, subjective factors were the main cause.

The Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee also stated that there are problems in the organization and implementation of Project 1, especially the most concerning issue being that some localities have already returned the funds, currently amounting to nearly 5 billion VND; therefore, he requested that the districts carefully consider this matter.

Vice Chairman of Nghe An Provincial People's Committee Bui Dinh Long delivers an explanation. Photo: Thanh Duy

Emphasizing that the difficulties have been largely resolved and the projects are now in place, the Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee requested that the localities benefiting from Project 1, based on their functions and responsibilities, strengthen the organization and implementation of the project, along with monitoring.

The Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee also committed to the Standing Committee of the Provincial People's Council that the funds for Project 1 would be disbursed according to the plan reported by the Provincial People's Committee.

WE MUST APPROACH THIS WITH THE MINDSET THAT IT IS A CRUCIAL TASK.

Concluding this discussion, the Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Thai Thanh Quy - Chairman of the Nghe An Provincial People's Council, emphasized that Project 1 is one of the very important projects of the National Target Program for Socio-Economic Development of Ethnic Minority and Mountainous Areas in the period 2021-2030 because it relates to the allocation of residential land, production land, housing, etc.

Thai Thanh Quy, Secretary of the Nghe An Provincial Party Committee and Chairman of the Provincial People's Council, concludes the explanatory session. Photo: Thanh Duy

The Chairman of the Provincial People's Council also shared that this is a difficult, sensitive, and complex issue; and pointed out the objective and subjective reasons leading to the slow disbursement of Project 1.

"Through the explanatory session, it was shown that the province has basically completed the system of regulations and guidelines to create a legal framework for the implementation of Project 1," the Chairman of the Nghe An Provincial People's Council assessed, while also acknowledging that the Provincial People's Committee had intervened and directed the implementation process when difficulties arose.

Leaders of the Provincial People's Committee and various departments and agencies at the explanatory session. Photo: Thanh Duy

Based on identifying limitations such as the slow overall disbursement rate, including very low implementation rates for some projects, and the fact that it took nearly two years to issue land allocation norms for residential and production land, the head of the Provincial People's Council stated that these were profound lessons about responsibility, involvement, and concern when implementing the program by relevant agencies and beneficiary localities.

Based on that, in the coming period, the Provincial Party Secretary and Chairman of the Provincial People's Council requested that relevant levels, sectors, and localities must consider this a crucial task because it is closely related to the lives of the people.

Therefore, the districts benefiting from the implementation of Project 1 must pay close attention to ensuring accuracy, fairness, and objectivity, avoiding errors, and especially gaining the consensus of the people.

Leaders of the Provincial People's Council's committees at the explanatory session. Photo: Thanh Duy

The Chairman of the Provincial People's Council also requested increased inspection, supervision, and monitoring; and to expedite the implementation of related procedures not only for Project 1, but also for other projects under this national target program. At the same time, the Provincial People's Committee must pay attention to allocating counterpart funds promptly and reviewing the data system.

The head of the Provincial People's Council requested continued recommendations to the Central Government regarding the shortcomings in Project 1 and the remaining projects of the National Target Program for Socio-Economic Development of Ethnic Minority and Mountainous Areas giai đoạn 2021 - 2030; and also proposed additional contents.

Nguyen Nam Dinh, Standing Vice Chairman of the Nghe An Provincial People's Council, delivered the concluding remarks on the implementation of the four notices summarizing the conclusions of the explanatory sessions of the Standing Committee of the Provincial People's Council from the beginning of the 2021-2026 term to the present. Photo: Thanh Duy

Previously, the Standing Committee of the Provincial People's Council listened to and commented on the implementation of four Notices summarizing the conclusions of the explanatory sessions of the Standing Committee of the Provincial People's Council from the beginning of the 2021-2026 term to the present, regarding the situation of issuing Certificates of Land Use Rights, Ownership of Houses and other assets attached to land in the province; the management and use of public assets after the merger of administrative units and public service units in the province; the implementation of Resolution No. 27/2021/NQ-HĐND dated December 9, 2021 of the Provincial People's Council stipulating a number of solutions to strengthen the removal of violations and prevent re-encroachment on the safety corridor of road and railway traffic in the province in the 2022-2025 period and the work of ensuring traffic safety and order in the province; Regarding the work of land allocation, forest allocation, management, protection and development of forests in the province (period 2018 - 2022).

Source: https://baonghean.vn/thuong-truc-hdnd-tinh-to-chuc-phien-giai-trinh-ve-giai-quyet-tinh-trang-thieu-dat-nha-o-nuoc-sinh-hoat-o-vung-dong-bao-dan-toc-thieu-so-mien-nui-post279985.html