The budget has been "burdened" with this "skyrocketing" compensation cost, so the above information should have made households happy. But on the contrary, hundreds of households refused the first time they were informed of the compensation, support and resettlement (TDC) level proposed by the locality...
Have money but can't release it quickly
The previous survey results of the group of architects Pham Van Phuoc and Vo Tan Lap of the Institute of Construction Planning on housing on and along canals and ditches in District 8, Ho Chi Minh City showed that there are 9,500 houses, mainly concentrated along the Tau Hu - Lo Gom canal, Doi canal... of which up to 1,100 houses are completely located on the water surface of canals and ditches. Most of the houses on and along canals and ditches were built illegally, mainly in dilapidated, temporary and patchwork structures. Meanwhile, the majority of people living in houses on and along canals and ditches are poor workers with low incomes. This continues to be a challenge for the plan to relocate and clear houses on and along canals and ditches of Ho Chi Minh City in the coming years, because most of them will only receive a modest amount of compensation and support for land and architectural materials, which is hardly enough to create new housing.
Regarding the implementation of the city's key projects, Mr. Dau An Phuc, Director of the Urban Infrastructure Project Management Board (Infrastructure Board), said that last year, the dredging and infrastructure construction project on the North bank of the Doi Canal was allocated public investment capital of up to VND5,465 billion. This year, the project continued to be allocated an additional VND400 billion by the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee. By January 31, the Infrastructure Board had disbursed all of last year's public investment capital, transferring all compensation, support and resettlement funds to the District 8 Compensation and Site Clearance Board to pay the people. However, it was not until August this year that the District 8 Compensation and Site Clearance Board could hand over the site for the project.
The results of a sociological survey of households affected by the project conducted recently by the Compensation and Site Clearance Board of District 8 also showed that 1,617 households in 6 wards will have to be cleared, of which 1,020 households will have to be completely cleared. On November 30, 2024, the People's Committee of District 8 approved the compensation plan and approved the cost estimate for compensation, support, and resettlement for affected people. However, when the compensation money was transferred to the locality and the compensation plan for affected households was also available, the people still had not received the money to hand over the site and move out of the construction area of the above project.
Regarding the collapse of the house along the Doi Canal that occurred on March 23 in Ward 14, District 8, Ms. Nguyen Thi Thien Nga, Deputy Head of the Standing Committee of the Propaganda and Mass Mobilization Department of District 8, said that the house located opposite 55-56 Hoai Thanh Street and the house next door had the wooden attic behind collapse into the Doi Canal with an area of about 13 square meters. This is the area where the dredging, infrastructure construction, and environmental improvement project on the North bank of the Doi Canal is being implemented. Both households whose houses collapsed were near-poor, one had 8 people and the other had 2 people, but fortunately at the time of the incident, those present in the house were able to escape. Notably, these two households had negotiated and agreed to receive compensation and clearance money from the project but were still waiting. To help affected households stabilize their lives, the People's Committee of District 8 has arranged temporary accommodation for one household, while the remaining households have requested to find their own accommodation while waiting to receive compensation. The money is available, but the incident of the "river god" threatening to "swallow" the property and lives of people living on and along the canals and ditches like this cannot fail to mention the responsibility of the Compensation and Site Clearance Board of District 8.
After more than 20 years of launching, the Xuyen Tam canal dredging, environmental improvement and infrastructure construction project has not been able to start simultaneously. After increasing the total investment capital to a very high level, from VND 9,664 billion to VND 17,229 billion, Ho Chi Minh City set the project commencement date for this past April. However, the project is still stuck in the compensation and site clearance stages while the total amount of money to be disbursed for this work is very large, up to VND 13,937 billion.
According to Mr. Dau An Phuc, the entire public investment capital that the Infrastructure Board was assigned to disburse last year to pay compensation and support for people, by the end of last year the Infrastructure Board had transferred it to the Compensation and Site Clearance Board of Binh Thanh and Go Vap districts.
In Binh Thanh district, with 2,077 households and agencies and organizations subject to clearance, including 1,230 cases of "blank" clearance to serve the project, but near the time to hand over the site, Binh Thanh district has only issued 1,993 land recovery notices and drafted detailed compensation, support and resettlement plans with 1,334 records. Of these, the locality has only contacted 784 household representatives to get their opinions on the compensation plan. The results were only 234 cases agreed, 214 cases promised to respond later and 294 cases outrightly disagreed with the compensation, support and resettlement plan proposed by the locality. Meanwhile, the deadline for handing over the entire project site was to be completed by last April. At the district level, there is a specialized committee for compensation and site clearance, and the support of functional departments such as the Department of Natural Resources and Environment, the Department of Urban Management, and ward authorities, but the compensation and land acquisition for key projects is still sluggish; how the new wards will carry out this work in the coming time is a matter of great concern.
More than 20 years still cannot prepare resettlement housing fund in advance?
Being present in the Xuyen Tam canal area in the last days of June, we recorded the fact that most households in Binh Thanh district have not yet handed over the land. Houses and architectural structures located in the Xuyen Tam canal renovation corridor are still in disarray. People living in the small, winding alleys, deep enough for only 2 motorbikes to pass each other, leading to Bui Huu Nghia and Dien Bien Phu streets of Binh Thanh district, still have to live with the strong stench coming from the canal when the water is low and live with the garbage in the Xuyen Tam canal.
Pointing to a dilapidated house with half of its back lying on the Xuyen Tam canal, Mr. Chin - a local resident here, confided a series of questions: The house and land have no papers, the compensation is low, how can it be enough to pay for an apartment? Elderly people like him are used to doing small business to make a living or doing freelance work to earn a living, now moving to an apartment, how can they make a living when the policy of supporting vocational training and job referrals is not suitable for the elderly?
Regarding the issue of livelihood for those who have to relocate, Mr. Tran Dang Khoa, Chief of Office of Binh Thanh District People's Committee, proposed a number of solutions: Poor and near-poor households within the project's clearance area will be introduced to loans from the job creation fund for people whose land is recovered and the poverty reduction fund; introduced to jobs and vocational training for those with actual needs who still reside in the locality. In addition, the locality will mobilize socialization to support means of livelihood for people in difficulty.
Responding to us about the resettlement issue for people who must be relocated, Mr. Tran Dang Khoa once affirmed that the locality has prepared a housing fund at Lot A of the Social Housing Project in Ward 12 and Lot D of the resettlement apartment building in Ward 22. Meanwhile, to ensure housing for households whose houses and land have been cleared to serve the Xuyen Tam Canal renovation project, the on-site resettlement plan for people is the Social Housing Project with 864 apartments at 4 Phan Chu Trinh, Ward 12, Binh Thanh District. However, this Social Housing project is still on paper, although according to the Director of the Infrastructure Board, Dau An Phuc, in December 2023, the Ho Chi Minh City People's Council decided to invest in this Social Housing area. The progress of the resettlement apartment project will take a few more years to complete, so the cost of housing support for households who are subject to resettlement but have to hand over the premises before receiving their houses will certainly not be small. This also goes against the policy of having a new resettlement housing fund available to implement the clearance and relocation of people, and this expense is also a form of considerable waste in public investment.
Such irrationalities must be mentioned even more because the policy of renovating Xuyen Tam canal was initiated by the city more than two decades ago, which means there has been too much time to prepare a resettlement housing fund to serve the project.
Another difficulty for the Xuyen Tam Canal Renovation Project is the total investment capital. On January 6, the City People's Committee reported to the Prime Minister about the emergence of criteria for an important national project. Specifically, the project was approved by the City People's Council in October 2023 with a total investment capital of more than VND 9,664 billion, of which the cost of compensation, support and resettlement is nearly VND 6,400 billion. With this plan, the project needs to reclaim more than 158,849m² of land, affecting 1,880 cases.
However, in September 2024, the project was adjusted by the City People's Council with a total investment capital of more than VND 17,229 billion and the recovered land area increased to 197,349m², affecting 2,215 cases. According to the explanation of the City People's Committee, the increased investment capital was mainly for site clearance costs, increasing from VND 6,400 billion to VND 13,937 billion. This increase is due to the application of new policies and regulations of the 2024 Land Law and the 2023 Housing Law, which have led to increased costs for compensation, site clearance, support and resettlement.
To resolve this problem, the City People's Committee has proposed that the Prime Minister consider and direct the reporting to the National Assembly on the project implementation status due to the emergence of criteria belonging to important national projects according to regulations.
According to Dr. Architect Le Van Nam - former Chief Architect, former Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Architects Association: To ensure the requirements for compensation and clearance to serve canal and ditch renovation projects, it is necessary to first have a detailed plan for creating a resettlement housing fund with many solutions. At the same time, urgently propose special mechanisms for compensation and site clearance from gathering opinions of local people along with local authorities and organizations.
Source: https://cand.com.vn/Xa-hoi/vi-sao-tien-chi-boi-thuong-tang-gap-doi-nhieu-nguoi-dan-van-tu-choi-bai-2--i774666/
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