Need to reclaim public land used for the wrong purpose in Tua Chua district

Ineffective, off-target

The land of Dien Bien Agricultural Seed Joint Stock Company (Tua Chua town seed farm), was leased by the People's Committee of the former Lai Chau province, now Dien Bien province, in Decision 929/QD-UBND dated July 2, 2003 with an area of ^173,992m2 ; the purpose is to produce agricultural plant varieties. By 2011, the People's Committee of Dien Bien province had reclaimed a part of the area of ^39,950m2 . Currently, the area being assigned to the Company for management ^{is 134,042m2} , including: Headquarters land of nearly ^2,000m2 , the purpose of land use is commercial and service land; the remaining area (Tong Lenh lake land) of more than ^132,000m2 is land for growing annual crops, protective forest land, and land for growing perennial crops.

It is worth mentioning that the Company has not used the land for the right purpose in the past. Currently, on the land plot used as the headquarters (nearly ^2,000m2 ), there are 2 houses that the Company is renting to Minh Khoi Construction Consulting Company Limited, Dien Bien province for materials. Regarding the remaining area (more than ^132,000m2 ), after inspection, the current status is that part of the area is forest, agricultural land, part is left unused and some locations show signs of land encroachment. The nursery garden has not been used for many years, the Company has not strictly managed the allocated land fund, leading to households and individuals encroaching on the land; the protective forest is not strictly managed, allowing people to cut down and encroach.

In addition, currently in Tua Chua district, there are 3 plots of land of Dien Bien Agricultural Seed Joint Stock Company for lease, including: Land plot at the tea factory in Ta Sin Thanh commune (area of nearly 686m ² ); Land plot at the Sin Chai tea factory (area of 1,000m ² ); Land plot at the Sinh Phinh tea factory (area of nearly 1,063m ² ). On the plots of land there are factories (level 4), but they are not in operation, abandoned or operating ineffectively. According to Mr. Sung A Khay, Chairman of the Sinh Phinh Commune People's Committee, the Company's tea factory land in the commune has been managed and used since 1996, the land does not have documents on land use rights. Having a tea factory will promote the development of tea trees, tea purchasing activities in the commune, and at the same time create jobs for people. However, the Company's tea purchasing and processing activities in the commune are ineffective, and have even been inactive in recent years, causing waste of land resources in the commune.

Similarly, the land plot of the Cinema Company (Dien Bien Province Film Distribution and Screening Center), with plot number 109, map sheet number 13, area ^75m2 , in Dong Tam residential group, Tua Chua town is currently being used for the wrong purpose. Accordingly, the land plot has been signed by the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of the province to issue a certificate of land use rights, house ownership rights and other assets attached to the land; the purpose of use is the agency's land headquarters; long-term use period. However, upon inspection, the current status of the land is a 2-storey house that the Cinema Company is leasing to households and individuals in Tua Chua town for housing and clothing sales.

Early recovery for effective management

On October 3, 2023, the inspection team of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment inspected the actual land use of organizations in Tua Chua district and discovered many violations. The inspection team recommended administrative sanctions in the field of land for violations by Dien Bien Agricultural Seed Joint Stock Company and forced the return of illegal benefits obtained from the violation. At the same time, the Company was required to fulfill its financial obligations for the remaining land (Tong Lenh Lake land and Sinh Phinh tea processing factory).

Faced with violations in the management and use of allocated and leased land, Sinh Phinh, Ta Sin Thang, Sin Chai communes, Tua Chua town and Tua Chua district People's Committee have repeatedly requested the competent authorities to consider and advise the provincial People's Committee to reclaim and hand over the land to the district for effective management and use of land resources and according to the district's planning, but so far it has not been reclaimed.

According to Mr. Bui Van Thuan, Chairman of Tua Chua Town People's Committee, the land in the headquarters area (Tua Chua Town seed farm) is currently not used by the company and is subleasing a part of the area. In addition, the nursery land and protective forest are not strictly managed, allowing people to cut down and encroach on them... Therefore, the Company is requested to voluntarily return the land to the locality for management according to regulations and must be responsible for resolving disputes and land encroachment after returning the land.

It is known that the Department of Natural Resources and Environment has requested Dien Bien Agricultural Seed Joint Stock Company to review and develop a land use plan (for the land plot at Tong Lenh Lake) for appraisal and approval, but up to now the Company has not yet completed the land use plan. Most recently, (October 2023), the Department of Natural Resources and Environment continued to issue a document requesting the Company to complete the dossier and return the Company's land plots in Tua Chua district.

Regarding the land plot of the Film Company in Dong Tam residential group, Tua Chua town, up to now, there is no need to use it and the land has been agreed to be returned to the locality for management according to regulations. However, the current status of the land plot still has assets on the land, based on the Law on Management and Use of Public Assets, the Company must report to the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Department of Finance to handle the assets attached to the land before completing the dossier to return the land according to regulations. After handling, the Department will advise the Provincial People's Committee to reclaim the land and hand it over to the district for management.

According to the leader of Dien Bien Agricultural Seed Joint Stock Company, for the land area of Tong Lenh Lake of more than ^132,000m2 , the Company no longer needs to use the land and voluntarily returns it to the State. However, due to unclear records of boundary markers and coordinates, the unit has requested the Department of Natural Resources and Environment to measure and re-determine the coordinates, location, and boundary markers before proceeding with the next steps. As for the land area of nearly ^2,000m2 of the office, the Company proposes to keep it. As for the land area of the tea processing factory in Sinh Phinh commune, due to no longer needing to use it, the Company voluntarily returns it to the State according to regulations.

According to Mr. Nguyen Minh Tuan, Vice Chairman of Tua Chua District People's Committee, after checking and reviewing, the two organizations that were assigned and leased land have voluntarily returned the land to the state, so he hopes that the authorities will consider and complete the procedures, advise the Provincial People's Committee to recover and hand over the land to the locality for management according to the plan.

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