Waiting for resettlement

As a locality with many residential areas located in areas with high risk of landslides, for many years, the mountainous district of Muong Lat (Thanh Hoa) has focused on the province to plan to build 8 resettlement areas for people. However, up to now, 6/8 resettlement areas have not been implemented.

The resettlement area of ​​Xa Lung village, Muong Ly commune, after 6 years of construction, is still unfinished. Photo: Nguyen Chung.

Resettlement areas… on paper

Sitting in a house built right next to the right bank of the Ma River during the flood season, with red waves rolling in, Mr. Ma Van Su (a resident of Xa Lung village, Muong Ly commune, Muong Lat district) said: This house is currently the shelter for 8 people in his family. Because it was built a long time ago, after each flood, the house has more cracks, so we don't know when it will collapse.

“It’s not just my family here, but also nearly 70 other households in the village that need to be relocated and resettled because they are located in an area with a high risk of landslides. Whenever it rains heavily and for a long time, everyone has to take turns staying up all night to watch for landslides… Since 2018, the State has announced that the whole village must move to a new place and we have been very hopeful and waiting. However, after more than 6 years, the resettlement area of ​​Xa Lung village has not been completed yet,” said Mr. Su.

It is known that Xa Lung village currently has 67 households, with hundreds of Mong people living there. The households here always have to live in a state of anxiety every time there is a flood. Due to its difficult geographical location, the village still does not have national grid electricity. The biggest wish at this time is to be resettled to a new place and have electricity to live in peace and develop the economy.

Speaking to the press, Mr. Ha Van Tuan - Chairman of Muong Ly Commune People's Committee said that according to Resolution 276 dated July 13, 2022 of Thanh Hoa Provincial People's Council, there was an investment policy for the project to arrange and stabilize the population for 67 households in Xa Lung village with a total investment of no more than 20.1 billion VND. The investment capital is from the provincial budget, and the site clearance cost is paid by the district. Although the Resolution set a completion date of 2024, after many years this resettlement project has not been able to be implemented due to many difficulties.

Lack of capital

The Xa Lung resettlement area is just one of nearly 10 resettlement projects for people living in areas at high risk of landslides in Muong Lat. According to information from the People's Committee of Muong Lat district, in the period from 2021 to 2025, the whole district has 753 households subject to resettlement according to the Project on arranging and stabilizing residents in areas at high risk of flash floods and landslides. In addition to interspersed and adjacent resettlement, the locality has also developed a plan to build 8 concentrated resettlement areas. However, to date, only 1 area has been completed and put into operation, 1 area is still unfinished and it is unknown when it will be completed, and the remaining 6 areas are currently at a standstill in construction implementation.

Muong Lat District People's Committee is proposing to Thanh Hoa Provincial People's Committee to review and adjust some contents such as adjusting the construction locations of concentrated and adjacent resettlement areas to suit capital sources, safety and adding more households to new resettlement areas or households not in resettlement areas.

Mr. Luong Van Liem - Deputy Director of the Project Management Board of Muong Lat district said: According to the review, there are currently 7 resettlement areas being invested, of which about half are facing difficulties. The reason is due to the complex mountainous terrain, when implementing the project, the district is required to level the ground, dig mountains and embankments to ensure safety before construction can be carried out. This leads to the inability to carry out construction due to the limited total investment and lack of implementation funds.

Speaking to reporters of Dai Doan Ket Newspaper, Mr. Cao Van Cuong - Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Thanh Hoa province said: The main reason for the delay in resettlement projects is that during the survey process, the locality did not properly assess the actual situation and the difficulties that arose, especially the lack of funding when implementing the projects.

“To resolve the problems, we have agreed with departments, branches and sectors and reported to the Thanh Hoa Provincial Party Committee to propose support plans for a resettlement area that is being invested in and built. For the support item for relocated people, Thanh Hoa province will use funds from the budget to pay. For the site clearance part, the province will also use funds from the budget to support... However, these are only temporary solutions. In the long term, in the coming time, in order for the Muong Lat District People's Committee to soon build resettlement areas to help people relocate to safe places, the province still needs to have a mechanism to adjust investment capital for each specific resettlement area" - Mr. Cuong added.

Source: https://daidoanket.vn/mon-moi-cho-tai-dinh-cu-10293473.html