Head of Hanoi Forest Protection Department feels sorry for Soc Son forest being 'carved up'

On August 11, Mr. Le Minh Tuyen, Head of the Forest Protection Department ( Hanoi Department of Agriculture and Rural Development) spoke to the press about the illegal construction on protective forest land in Soc Son district, which has caused a stir in public opinion in recent days.

Mr. Tuyen said that on August 9, the Department sent a document reporting to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development about the situation of illegal leveling and construction on forest land in Soc Son area.

Mr. Le Minh Tuyen, Head of Hanoi Forest Protection Department. (Photo: Quang Phong)

Accordingly, from the beginning of 2023 to present, in Soc Son district, there have been 59 cases of forest land encroachment, including 36 cases of illegal construction; 21 cases of leveling and 2 cases of illegal forest land exploitation.

“Most of the violations occurred on vacant land, without any acts of cutting down trees or exploiting forest trees. Therefore, Forest Protection Department No. 4 coordinated with the commune authorities to draw up a record requesting the immediate cessation of illegal leveling and construction and promptly report to the Soc Son District People's Committee to direct the relevant agencies and commune People's Committees to handle the matter according to their authority,” said Mr. Tuyen.

Mr. Tuyen said that this is not the first time the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development has requested Soc Son district to handle violations related to forestry land. Since the beginning of 2023, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development has sent 6 documents requesting the People's Committee of Soc Son district to direct the district's functional agencies and the People's Committees of communes to thoroughly handle violations.

Spacious villa located next to landslide area in Ban Tien hamlet.

Mr. Tuyen said that according to Decision 2100 issued in 2008 by the Hanoi People's Committee, the total forest land in Soc Son is 4,445 hectares. Of which, Soc Son district manages about 2,300 hectares, the remaining area is managed by the Management Board of Protective Forests and Special-Use Forests (Hanoi Department of Agriculture and Rural Development).

Later, the Hanoi People's Committee decided to hand over the entire forest area and forestry land to the Management Board of Protective Forests and Special-Use Forests. In the period of 2020-2021, Soc Son district has only handed over the first phase of about 1,150 hectares, with about 1,200 hectares yet to be handed over.

"Hanoi City has directed Soc Son district to handle all existing problems related to land, granting land use right certificates, construction order... before handing over," Mr. Tuyen said, explaining the reason why Soc Son district has not yet handed over the remaining 1,200 hectares of forest.

According to Mr. Le Minh Tuyen, Dong Do Lake area is a place where illegal construction on forestry land is quite serious.

According to Mr. Tuyen, Dong Do Lake (Minh Tri Commune) and Ban Tien Lake (Minh Phu Commune) are areas where illegal construction activities on forestry land are taking place quite seriously. Most of this land area is under the management of the district and has not been handed over to the Management Board of Protective Forests and Special-Use Forests.

“Therefore, the locality needs to speed up the review, mark the boundaries and thoroughly handle illegal construction cases in accordance with regulations. If this key issue is not resolved, the encroachment on Soc Son forest will continue forever,” said Mr. Tuyen.

After a landslide and rockslide buried 13 cars on the morning of August 4 in Ban Tien hamlet (Minh Phu commune, Soc Son), a series of homestays and solid constructions were discovered encroaching on forest land in this area.

Through investigation, all of these projects were built in 2021 and 2022, just two years after Hanoi City issued an inspection conclusion on forest land management and use in Soc Son district.

The forest around Dong Do lake is forming business and service areas.

Similarly, in the Dong Do Lake area (Minh Tri Commune, Soc Son), illegal construction on protective forest land and special-use forests is also serious. In just two years 2022 and 2023, Minh Tri Commune had to forcibly demolish nearly 30 solid constructions and demolish 268 small huts in the forest in the area around Dong Do Lake.

A report from Soc Son district shows that from the beginning of 2023 to now, there have been 187 illegal constructions in protective forest land. In 2022, 245 cases were handled, and in 2021, more than 300 cases were handled...

Previously, in March 2019, the Hanoi Inspectorate issued two inspection conclusions on Soc Son forest land. They clearly stated nearly 3,000 cases of forest land violations. In Minh Phu and Minh Tri communes alone, as well as the area around 7 large lakes in the forest planning, there were 797 violating constructions.

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