Receiving opinions to remove 'bottlenecks' in agricultural and environmental laws

The Ministry of Agriculture and Environment receives comments from the National Assembly, reviews the draft law on agriculture and environment, handles 'bottlenecks', and ensures management of land, forests, and reservoirs.

On the morning of December 1, continuing the 10th Session, under the chairmanship of Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Le Minh Hoan, the National Assembly discussed in the Hall the draft Law on amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Geology and Minerals; the draft Law on amending and supplementing a number of articles of 15 laws in the fields of agriculture and environment.

Minister Tran Duc Thang spoke to clarify the contents commented by National Assembly delegates. Photo: Nhu Y.

Speaking to clarify the contents of the National Assembly deputies' comments, on behalf of the drafting agency, Minister of Agriculture and Environment Tran Duc Thang thanked the National Assembly deputies for their dedicated and responsible opinions on the two draft laws presented at this session. Many comments were "very accurate, highly practical" and could be completely incorporated into the draft.

Minister Tran Duc Thang said he will coordinate with relevant agencies to review, edit and complete the documents submitted to the National Assembly, especially issues related to ensuring the consistency of the legal system, clearly defining transitional cases and developing detailed guidance documents. The opinions of delegates at the Discussion Group and at the Hall will continue to be synthesized in the process of developing sub-law documents.

Focus on handling three large content groups

Regarding the draft Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of 15 laws in the fields of agriculture and environment, speaking before the National Assembly, Minister Tran Duc Thang said that the draft Law amending and supplementing laws in the fields of agriculture and environment is built in the direction of focusing on three groups of consistent contents: reorganizing the apparatus; reforming administrative procedures, reducing investment and business conditions and handling emerging "bottlenecks".

These "bottlenecks" were selected based on two criteria: First, they are widely reported by people and businesses and if resolved, will have a major impact on socio-economic development. Second, they have a clear political basis from resolutions, conclusions, and directions of the Party and State.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Environment receives comments from the National Assembly, reviews the draft law on agriculture and environment, addresses "bottlenecks", and ensures management of land, forests, and reservoirs. Photo: Nhu Y.

Regarding the shortcomings beyond the 20 groups of contents included in the draft, the drafting agency determined that more time was needed to summarize the practice and fully assess the impact. The overall revision period is proposed to be implemented in 2026-2030.

According to the plan, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment will assess the impact and propose amendments to 14 out of 15 laws in the management field, to be submitted to the 16th National Assembly in the period of 2026 - 2030. In particular, the Law on Environmental Protection and the Law on Marine and Island Resources and Environment are expected to be submitted for amendments in 2026.

Clarifying many contents of interest to National Assembly deputies

In addition to the general issues, Minister Tran Duc Thang also clarified the specific contents and provisions of the draft Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of 15 laws in the fields of agriculture and environment. Regarding the proposal to remove the requirement for environmental impact assessment (EIA) for projects using land for two or more rice crops, many delegates suggested that it should be considered. The Minister said that ensuring food security is a very important requirement, especially for the area of ​​​​rice land for two crops. The content of rice land management has been clearly stipulated in the Land Law and the Investment Law, from planning, land use plans to the authority to change the purpose. When the project goes through the procedures for approval of investment policy according to current law, these requirements have been integrated.

Therefore, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, it is not necessary to add a separate procedure in the Law on Environmental Protection, but still ensure good control of environmental impacts.

Regarding the content of using topsoil, which received many opinions from delegates, including delegate Nguyen Thi Kim Anh, the Minister said that in the past, this regulation has caused many difficulties in project implementation: because the volume of excavated soil is large, it must be gathered and stored at a high cost; many areas have changed the crop structure, leading to difficulty in reusing; if gathered unreasonably, it can easily cause environmental pollution.

Regarding this, when asking for opinions from 34 localities, 30/34 agreed to the proposal to remove the regulation; 4 localities had no opinion. In response to the opinions of National Assembly delegates, the presiding agency will continue to coordinate with the examining agency to study the direction of assigning the Government to provide detailed regulations for a number of specific cases, both to strictly manage and not cause congestion for the project.

Minister Tran Duc Thang emphasized that the drafting agency will seriously absorb all opinions of delegates to complete the dossier to be submitted to the National Assembly, ensuring that the law is both feasible and meets the requirements of socio-economic development and environmental protection. Photo: Khuong Trung.

One issue that many delegates raised questions about was forest management and use. The Ministry of Agriculture and Environment affirmed: The temporary use of forests is only for national defense, security, training or projects for national and public interests; it does not change the purpose of forest use. Decree 27/2025 has specific regulations to overcome previous difficulties, especially with protective forests and special-use forests. The procedures that were very difficult have now been basically resolved.

Regarding the content of Responding to Climate Change and Reservoir Overload, the Minister mentioned the situation of prolonged heavy rains in 2025, far exceeding the load capacity of infrastructure, including reservoirs. Although the units operate according to the correct procedures, there are still places that are overloaded. In addition to the extreme weather factor, Minister Tran Duc Thang said that it is necessary to review the inter-reservoir operation process, strengthen coordination between reservoirs in the region and consider special mechanisms for reservoirs that play an important role in minimizing natural disaster damage.

Receiving the opinion of delegate Nguyen Thi Lan (Hanoi) on the Law on Veterinary Medicine, the Minister said that many of the contents mentioned by the delegate are already included in current legal regulations and will continue to be reviewed and improved, especially regarding the capacity of the grassroots veterinary system and supervision of food safety and hygiene.

Regarding the regulation on paying for replacement forest planting, which is of interest to delegates, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment affirmed that this is a necessary requirement to ensure fairness between projects. When exploiting or changing the purpose of forest use, investors must plant replacement forests or pay corresponding money as other financial obligations.

Minister Tran Duc Thang emphasized that the drafting agency will seriously absorb all opinions of delegates to complete the dossier submitted to the National Assembly, ensuring that the law is both feasible and meets the requirements of socio-economic development and environmental protection.

Source: https://nongnghiepmoitruong.vn/tiep-thu-y-kien-thao-go-diem-nghen-luat-nong-nghiep-va-moi-truong-d787508.html