Beware of distorted arguments about land recovery in Con Xanh

Perspective of the complex of 3 green steel projects in Con Xanh area (Nghia Hung district, Nam Dinh province).

Perspective of the complex of 3 green steel projects in Con Xanh area (Nghia Hung district, Nam Dinh province).

Con Xanh is a coastal alluvial area in Nghia Hung district, just like any other alluvial area, people around the area often catch natural seafood here. In 2001, in order to properly manage coastal alluvial areas, according to the provisions of law, the People's Committee of Nam Dinh province temporarily transferred the administrative management of the Con Xanh alluvial area to 4 communes including Nghia Thanh, Nghia Lam, Nghia Hai and Nam Dien; then these 4 communes signed contracts to lease land to people for agricultural production such as rice cultivation, aquaculture... In 2010, after the State used budget capital to build a solid dike surrounding the Con Xanh area, the People's Committees of the 4 communes liquidated all previous land lease contracts, the People's Committee of Nghia Hung district organized the re-allocation of land lots and organized land lease bidding, the term of which did not exceed 2 years for 1 contract period and authorized the People's Committees of the 4 communes to sign contracts with people and continue to temporarily manage according to regulations. Thus, the land here is not agricultural land allocated to people for a long time (in localities, there is rice field allocated to people for a period of 50 years, annual harvest and this land is granted a pink book). After winning the auction to rent land for aquaculture, about 400 households in the Con Xanh area all organized aquaculture.

After the Prime Minister approved the conversion of land use purposes in Con Xanh area to industrial, commercial and service purposes, Nam Dinh province has a policy of reclaiming land to implement projects of Xuan Thien Company in Con Xanh area to develop socio-economy, improve living standards, and create more jobs for people in communes, districts and the whole province.

The petition of the people raising aquatic products in the Con Xanh area started in the third quarter of 2021, when the commune authorities, acting as Party A in the land lease contract, informed the people renting the land as Party B that after the contract expired in 2021, they would no longer lease the land. The people said that the announcement of the authorities was too sudden, and the people did not have time to prepare because the aquatic products had not yet reached the harvest season (the longest-duration type is grouper, which takes 3 years to harvest); the government's land reclamation without compensation to the people was incorrect and allowing businesses to do steel projects would destroy the ecological environment. Since then, the Nam Dinh provincial government has organized 5 direct and public dialogues with aquaculture farmers, many with representatives of central ministries, departments and agencies, along with many working sessions, meetings, propaganda, explanations and mobilizations by authorities at all levels to help people understand and also to give time for people to harvest all the unharvested aquatic products as they presented the difficulties.

It can be affirmed that the implementation process of the projects of Xuan Thien Group Joint Stock Company has been carefully and thoroughly considered and evaluated; the decision to implement the project steps is in accordance with the planning, order and procedures prescribed by law, and at the same time, based on the legal basis, it is affirmed that the land fund of the coastal alluvial area of Con Xanh is the land area managed by the State, leased to households for aquaculture and seafood farming, not land allocated to the people for long-term stability, so when the land lease term expires, the State will reclaim it without compensation, which is in accordance with the law. According to the contents of the investor, Nam Dinh province and the Central Ministries and branches, although these are projects related to iron and steel, they use new steelmaking technology (electric arc furnace), so the impact on the environment is very low.

In theory, the government's land acquisition without compensation is in accordance with current legal regulations; in terms of situation, the Nam Dinh provincial government has spent a lot of time talking and propagating to the people, and businesses also have a mechanism to provide material support for households to relocate ponds, livestock, and create employment opportunities for people of working age (men from 18 to 60 years old; women from 18 to 55 years old). Even Mr. Tran Van Tao, born in 1955, residing in Hamlet 10, Nam Dien Commune, after committing to ensure health and voluntarily applying for a job, the business still created conditions to accept him. Currently, there are more than 40 people working in ponds in the Con Xanh area who have been recruited to work in the Con Xanh area. After completing the construction of the factory, the number of jobs created by the business for the people will be many times higher than the number of workers that the locality currently has. Xuan Thien Group has had to plan to recruit personnel from many neighboring provinces and cities to meet human resource needs in the coming time.

In fact, up to now, the area implementing 3 projects of Xuan Thien Group in Con Xanh has 200 households agreeing with the State's policy, voluntarily signing the minutes and will hand over the land to the government before May 27, 2025; only 31 households in the project area of Xuan Thien Group have not accepted to hand over the land. Of which, the Provincial People's Committee has issued a Decision on administrative sanctions for land encroachment against 26 households and the Nghia Hung District People's Committee issued a similar decision to 3 households. On March 31, 2025, the Nghia Hung District People's Committee continued to issue a Decision on compulsory land recovery for 3 households that had a Decision on administrative sanctions by the Provincial People's Committee. All 3 households are permanent residents in Nghia Hai commune. This is a strong, necessary measure and ensures strict legality in the context that Nam Dinh is accelerating the progress of land recovery and site clearance to serve the construction of key projects, which are expected to create a great impetus for socio-economic development for the province. Previously, the notices and decisions on land recovery of the People's Committee of Nghia Hung district were delivered to the above 3 households in accordance with regulations on order and procedures.

However, some unofficial news sites claim that: "People in Con Xanh area who have land ownership papers in Con Xanh area were suddenly turned into subjects of land grabbing by the State by the Nghia Hung district government and Nam Dinh province government; the government also "blatantly" imposed administrative fines, arrested and prosecuted 3 other people in previous forced evictions".

Therefore, regarding the information spreading about the incident in the Con Xanh area, we need to be sober and make a comprehensive assessment, and not rush to judge or misunderstand the nature of the incident. For the people of Con Xanh, be vigilant against distorted and hostile arguments. Their purpose is to guide people to the path of violating the law, creating resistance, opposing the government, causing social chaos and then taking advantage to create an excuse for hostile forces to interfere in Vietnam's internal affairs with the tricks of "civil society, freedom, democracy..."...

It is necessary to correctly perceive the nature of the incident and always have a constructive spirit, agreeing with the local socio-economic development policy as a way to contribute to building the country to become more prosperous, prosperous and developed./.

Minh Tuan - Phan Tung