Proposal to dismantle 10 illegally built homestays on Cam Mountain

An Giang Tinh Bien Town proposed the Provincial People's Committee to force the demolition of illegally built homestays on forest land in Cam Mountain due to unsafety and risk of landslides.

The proposal to demolish illegally built homestays was made by the Tinh Bien town government in the context that last month, some areas on Cam Mountain and Ba The Mountain experienced landslides after many days of storms and rain. Authorities determined that most homestays were built precariously on steep hillsides, with makeshift structures and poor load-bearing capacity.

The illegal construction of homestays on Cam Mountain has been flourishing since last year. Every month, these establishments accommodate thousands of guests. When discovered, local authorities imposed administrative fines, but these accommodations are still operating.

A homestay is under construction on Cam Mountain in late 2022. Photo: Ngoc Tai

At the end of 2022, An Giang province decided to allow these projects to exist on the condition that they remain in their current state and hand them over to Tinh Bien town for management and planning. Therefore, when the local government asked them to stop operating and proposed to force them to dismantle, the homestay owners objected because they believed that the local government's policy was inconsistent.

According to the management board of Cam Mountain tourist area, each month the homestays serve about 7,000 visitors, at peak times visitors have to book several months in advance to get a place. The price per night is 300,000-500,000 VND. In addition to the 10 facilities currently in operation, there are two new homestays under construction.

Mr. Le Trung Hieu, Director of the An Giang Trade and Investment Promotion Center, proposed to develop this type of accommodation on Cam Mountain because of the great demand, bringing income to local people. However, this needs a specific plan to ensure safety and guide people to comply.

Cam Mountain is over 700 m high and is the highest mountain in the West. In 2002, An Giang province issued a directive on economic development combined with national defense on Cam Mountain. Accordingly, on the one hand, taking advantage of natural advantages to develop tourism, but also requiring review, not allowing new residents to arise and strictly prohibiting illegal construction on the mountain.

The Cam Mountain tourist area has an approved area of ​​over 1,000 hectares, with 9 functional sub-areas: the cable car area and Cam Mountain forest park are over 50 hectares wide; Ta Lot Lake tourist area is 120 hectares wide and Cam Mountain tourist area is over 850 hectares wide.

The locality also counted nearly 600 households building houses on forest land. These are people who have lived on the mountain for many years without papers; 78 illegal places of worship.

Ngoc Tai

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