Dak Lak faces difficulties in providing housing and production land support to ethnic minority communities.

In recent times, the allocation of land to ethnic minority communities in Dak Lak province has faced many difficulties. In response to this situation, the Dak Lak provincial government is actively seeking solutions to effectively implement policies supporting residential and agricultural land for ethnic minority households.

For example, in Buon Ho town ( Dak Lak province), there are 8 communes and wards, with 44 villages and hamlets inhabited by ethnic minorities. Of these, 28 hamlets are inhabited by indigenous ethnic minorities. The entire town is home to 25 ethnic groups living together, with 31,459 ethnic minorities, accounting for 31.04% of the population. By the end of 2023, the total number of poor households in the town was approximately 662, representing 2.49% of the total number of households. Of these, 362 households were ethnic minority households, accounting for 54.7% of the total number of poor households.

It is proposed that 6,548.8 hectares be considered for allocation to provide residential and production land for ethnic minority communities in accordance with regulations.

From 2002 to 2020, Buon Ho town implemented policies to support residential and production land according to the Government's policies in Decision No. 134/2004/QD-TTg on some policies to support production land, residential land, housing and clean water for poor ethnic minority households with difficult living conditions; Decision No. 755/QD-TTg on policies to support residential land, production land and clean water for poor ethnic minority households and poor households in particularly difficult communes, villages and hamlets; and Decision No. 2085/QD-TTg on specific policies to support socio -economic development in ethnic minority and mountainous areas in the period 2017-2020. Specifically, the town provided support for residential land to 61 households, with an area of ​​nearly 1.8 hectares; and production land to 164 households, with an area of ​​nearly 48.5 hectares.

Regarding the implementation of support for housing, land for housing, and production land for ethnic minority households and poor households under Decision No. 1719/QD-TTg of the Prime Minister on the National Target Program for socio-economic development of ethnic minority and mountainous areas in the period 2021 - 2030 (Phase I: from 2021 to 2025), 28 households have registered for housing and land support, and more than 1.2 billion VND has been disbursed (equivalent to 42% of the plan).

However, according to the People's Committee of Buon Ho town, during the implementation of policies supporting residential and production land, many difficulties and obstacles have been encountered, such as a shortage of land to support households, and some households using the allocated land for purposes other than intended.

To monitor the implementation of policies supporting residential and production land for ethnic minority households, on October 17, 2024, the Ethnic Affairs Committee of the Dak Lak Provincial People's Council conducted a monitoring visit to the Department of Natural Resources and Environment on "The situation of management and use of residential and production land allocated by the State to ethnic minority households; implementation of planning to support residential land, housing, and production land for ethnic minority households and poor households; and implementation of compensation, support, and resettlement policies when the State recovers land for project implementation on the land area allocated by the State to ethnic minority households" from 2002 to June 2024.

According to the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of Dak Lak province, the unit has closely coordinated with relevant departments and localities in reviewing and prioritizing the allocation of land to address the needs of ethnic minority households and landless or land-deficient people in the locality, in accordance with government policies and programs. This information is then compiled and incorporated into the annual land use planning and land use plans at the district level, submitted to the People's Committee of Dak Lak province for approval, and used as a basis for implementation.

To date, the People's Committee of Dak Lak province has approved the land use plan for the period 2021-2030 for all 15/15 district-level administrative units. During the appraisal process of the district-level land use plan until 2030, the appraisal council of Dak Lak province requested the People's Committees of districts, towns, and cities to review and allocate sufficient land to implement projects for the resettlement and stabilization of spontaneous migrants.

Dak Lak province is focusing on resolving issues related to residential and production land for landless ethnic minority households, in accordance with Decision 1719/QD-TTg of the Prime Minister approving the National Target Program for socio-economic development in ethnic minority and mountainous areas for the period 2021-2030.

In addition, address the issue of housing and production land for landless ethnic minority people in accordance with Decision 1719/QD-TTg of the Prime Minister approving the National Target Program for socio-economic development of ethnic minority and mountainous areas for the period 2021-2030, Phase I: from 2021 to 2025.

Authorities have developed a comprehensive plan for the area, covering 264,063 hectares of land reclaimed from forestry farms, forestry companies, forest management boards, conservation areas, and national parks that were previously managed by local authorities.

In the detailed plan, the districts are reviewing and proposing 6,548.8 hectares for consideration and allocation of land to address housing and production land needs for ethnic minority communities in accordance with regulations. Currently, the district-level People's Committees are reviewing and developing detailed land use plans for submission for appraisal and approval as per regulations.

However, the process of allocating land for the implementation of land policies for ethnic minority communities in the area still faces some difficulties. For example, a review revealed that most of the land currently managed by the local authorities has been used by people for many years. Therefore, allocating this land to ethnic minority households would take a long time and require significant funds for compensation and support for assets and structures.

For the remaining land, which is mostly degraded forest land with rocky soil, allocating it to the people would result in low cultivation efficiency and would require procedures to change the land use purpose from forest land.

According to the monitoring team's assessment, land policies demonstrate the Party and State's deep concern for ethnic minority communities. However, the implementation process faces many obstacles due to various related regulations, as well as the actual land situation in Dak Lak province. Therefore, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment needs to work with localities to understand, resolve, and address the difficulties and shortcomings in this area.