On the website of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (www.monre.gov.vn) from July 19 to August 3, the ministry publicly posted the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Report of the Ka Pet Reservoir project. The project belongs to the Management Board of Investment Projects for Construction of Agricultural Works and Rural Development of Binh Thuan Province (Representative of the Investor) and the Southern Mining and Geology Company Limited (consultant).
This posting is for public comment, to take the next steps, not an EIA report approved by the Ministry.
Accordingly, the project investor must also conduct many other forms of consultation, then synthesize information to send the dossier to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment for approval.
Simulation of Ka Pet Lake after completion. (Photo: Binh Thuan Provincial People's Committee).
On the afternoon of September 6, answering a VTC News reporter regarding the fact that Binh Thuan province allowed the destruction of more than 600 hectares of forest to implement the Ka Pet reservoir project, Ms. Nguyen Thi Le Thuy - Vice Chairwoman of the National Assembly's Committee on Science, Technology and Environment - expressed surprise when public opinion and the press reported on this issue in recent days.
" Since 2019 (the project was approved by the National Assembly at the 8th session of the 14th National Assembly in May 2019), there have been no comments, now there are comments so I find it a bit strange ," said Ms. Thuy.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Le Thuy said that the Ka Pet Lake project is a group B project (small project) under the decision-making authority of the province. However, due to the criteria requiring the conversion of forest land use purposes, according to legal regulations, the National Assembly must approve the investment policy. At the same time, the Government must submit the documents, not the People's Committee of Binh Thuan province.
" The Committee for Science, Technology and Environment is the agency that examines the necessity of project implementation, project implementation methods, project procedures... We examine based on data provided by the Government ," Ms. Thuy informed.
According to the Vice Chairman of the Committee on Science, Technology and Environment, to have a dossier submitted to the appraisal agency, the Government must establish a council for opinions with the participation of ministries, departments, and branches... The Government assigns localities to hire specialized research units to survey and evaluate, and forest statistics must also follow circulars, regulations, and standards.
" We will examine whether the Government has implemented the correct procedures or not, and the Government must take responsibility for the accuracy of the data. The examination process of the examination agency is strict and in accordance with the provisions of the law, " affirmed Ms. Nguyen Thi Le Thuy.
Ms. Thuy said that the project dossier of Ka Pet reservoir in particular and other projects in general, before being placed on the desk of the appraisal agency, must have complete components, enough opinions, and comply with regulations to be accepted.
The investment policy for the Ka Pet reservoir project (Ham Thuan Nam, Binh Thuan) was approved by the National Assembly at the 8th session of the 14th National Assembly (May 2019).
At the 5th session of the 15th National Assembly, the Government submitted a proposal to adjust the investment policy of this project. Among the adjusted contents, the land use area of the project increased to nearly 698 hectares (an increase of nearly 4.5 hectares compared to the initial approval).
Of which, forest land is about 620ha (down 60.83ha) including special-use forest land of 137.95ha (down 24.6ha), protective forest land of 0.51ha (down 0.4ha), production forest land of 440.4ha (down 30.69ha), land outside the planning of 3 types of forests of 40.72ha (down 5.13ha).
Chau Anh
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