A thorough review is needed before agreeing on the name of the new commune.

Two core aspects when naming a new commune

After Quang Tri province announced the project to arrange administrative units at the commune level to collect voters' opinions, it received many public opinions that naming new communes according to order and direction (district name + 1, 2, 3...; district name + east, west, south, north) is mechanical, rigid, lacks geographical specificity and does not reflect the historical and cultural depth of the land.

A corner of Dong Ha City - Photo: QH

Grasping the people's thoughts and listening to public opinion, the districts met to propose new names. For example, Trieu Phong district chose the names Trieu Phong, Ai Tu, Trieu Binh, Trieu Co, Nam Cua Viet to replace the old plans of Trieu Phong 1 to Trieu Phong 5. Gio Linh chose 3 new names Con Tien, Cua Viet, Ben Hai to replace Tay Gio Linh, Dong Gio Linh, Bac Gio Linh; the name of Gio Linh commune remained the same as the old plan. Meanwhile, Hai Lang chose Dien Sanh, Hai Lang, Cau Nhi, Vinh Dinh, My Thuy to replace Hai Lang, Tay Hai Lang, Nam Hai Lang, Trung Hai Lang and Dong Hai Lang.

As someone who has shared many heartfelt opinions on this issue, Mr. Nguyen Hoan, former Deputy Director of the Department of Information and Communications of Quang Tri Province (old) expressed his excitement that local authorities have listened to public opinion and made timely adjustments. Mr. Hoan also gave more suggestions for the competent authorities to make the final decision on the list of new communes.

According to Mr. Hoan, the principles when naming communes in the National Assembly's resolution as well as the Government's decision when approving the Project on rearranging and reorganizing administrative units at all levels and building a 2-level local government organization model emphasize 2 core aspects.

Firstly, the commune name must be easy to read, easy to remember, concise, systematic, scientific, and consistent with the historical and cultural traditions of the locality.

Second, the name must promote the comparative advantages of the locality and be in line with the integration trend. Perhaps because the districts have not closely followed these two key points and there is no unified direction on how to name communes throughout the province, this situation of mechanical naming has occurred. “If there had been a consistent criterion throughout the province, the districts would have been less confused from the beginning.

For example, when Gio Linh named Cua Viet commune, Trieu Phong had to name it Nam Cua Viet to take the name of Cua Viet, a famous and important seaport in the history of Quang Tri and the country. When Cua Viet was named, logically Vinh Linh district had to take the name of Cua Tung, also a famous place name, to name the new commune. Also following that logic, Hai Lang had to take My Thuy. That is the consistency in choosing place names and seaports to name,” Mr. Hoan stated his opinion.

Mr. Hoan further analyzed that choosing My Thuy to name focuses on promoting the comparative advantages of the locality, in line with the integration trend. Because My Thuy is a deep-water port, the core of the Southeast Quang Tri Economic Zone, which is the comparative advantage of Quang Tri land. Moreover, this deep-water seaport is a development pole not only in Quang Tri but also in the whole region on the East-West Economic Corridor, so naming My Thuy is of an integration nature. Or choosing Cua Viet and Cua Tung is both suitable for cultural and historical factors and promoting the advantages of tourism development.

According to Deputy Director of the Department of Home Affairs Tran Huu Anh, the names of the communes and wards after the rearrangement are proposed by districts, towns and cities. On that basis, the Department of Home Affairs synthesizes and makes a project to collect people's opinions. When making a plan to arrange administrative units at the commune level, according to the central government's policy, it is encouraged to name them in order to facilitate digitization. However, the central government only encourages, not imposes, depending on each locality. That is why in Quang Tri, some districts have proposed to name new communes according to numbers and directions.

One last thorough review needed

According to the plan, the Department of Home Affairs will synthesize the people's opinions on the project to arrange administrative units at the commune level and report to the competent authority for completion on April 22. The Department of Home Affairs will advise the Provincial People's Committee to submit to the Provincial People's Council for consideration and issuance of a resolution approving the policy to arrange administrative units at the commune level from April 25 to 27. Quang Tri is expected to complete submitting to the Government the project dossier to arrange administrative units at the commune level before May 1.

Mr. Nguyen Hoan said that from adjusting the new commune name after listening to public opinion and the people to the stages of reviewing documents through many levels, the criteria for choosing a name were basically met. However, before reaching a final decision, a general review is needed.

“In my opinion, the provincial steering committee for administrative unit arrangement needs a meeting to thoroughly review, on the basis of gathering intelligence from the bottom up through the comments of experts, researchers and people who understand the culture and history of Quang Tri. The commune name must have a soul, must have the power to move because each land contains many cultural sediments in it,” Mr. Hoan expressed.

Sharing the same view, Mr. Le Duc Tho, Deputy Director of the Center for Monuments and Museums Management of Quang Tri province, said that the adjustment of the new commune name is to listen to public opinion but is still not very accurate. “In my opinion, the province needs to have a review, change, to apply from one district to another in a reasonable way, with an overview. This is the scientific basis for the Department of Home Affairs to advise the Provincial People's Committee. In terms of government, there must be a council to decide on this matter,” Mr. Tho said.

Regarding this issue, through previous discussions, Deputy Director of the Department of Home Affairs Tran Huu Anh emphasized that if the people agree with any opinion, the locality must adjust the commune name according to that opinion. Based on the opinions of the localities, the Department of Home Affairs will collect and submit to the competent authority for consideration and decision.

Quang Hai

Source: https://baoquangtri.vn/can-mot-cuoc-ra-soat-ky-luong-truoc-khi-thong-nhat-dat-ten-xa-moi-193134.htm