Tight but not yet reasonable
Assessing the implementation of the 2010 Mineral Law, Mr. Nguyen Cong Binh, Head of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of Nam Giang district, said that the regulations have created a new corridor and policy on minerals in a strict, transparent and resource-management direction. However, when applied locally, there are still many unreasonable points. Regulations on the order of documents and procedures for granting licenses for mineral activities (sand, gravel) are still cumbersome, time-consuming, and not suitable for the reality of the locality, which mainly has small-scale mines, low reserves and frequent changes due to rain and floods. If the procedures for applying for mining licenses are established in accordance with regulations, it will not be eligible and time-consuming, making it difficult to attract businesses and investment in mining.
The planning supplement, the establishment of exploration procedures, and the granting of mineral exploitation licenses are related to many sectors and related to forest development planning, while many mining sites are located in the planning of production forest land, therefore, the time for establishing procedures to convert land use purposes and adjust outside the forest planning is prolonged, causing difficulties for businesses to invest. In addition, the large area, difficult traffic, and staff also affect the work of monitoring and detecting illegal mineral exploitation subjects. Up to now, the locality has not had the funds to conduct a full investigation and assessment of the mineral potential in the area to include in the planning for effective exploitation and use, contributing to the socio-economic development of the district.
“Currently, the district is lacking in sand and gravel as common construction materials, but the licensing procedures are very difficult. Therefore, it is necessary to consider a mechanism to authorize the district People's Committee to grant licenses for sand mining as common construction materials for small areas with reserves of about 1,000m3 - 2,000m3 to meet the construction needs in the district,” Mr. Binh suggested.
In fact, the management of construction material mineral exploitation in many mountainous areas of Quang Nam province has encountered many difficulties and is not enough to meet the needs of on-site construction. Because according to many localities, the characteristics of mountainous areas, sand and gravel are often scattered and small, while the conditions for granting a license to exploit construction materials are too strict, so in many cases, if the procedures for applying for a mining license are completed in accordance with regulations, it will not be eligible, time-consuming, sometimes delaying the progress of construction works, not in line with the policy of reforming administrative procedures, ... From there, leading to the situation where organizations and individuals only secretly exploit illegally.
According to Mr. Vo Van Hieu - Deputy Head of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of Phuoc Son district, since the 2010 Mineral Law came into effect, mineral activities in the district have had positive changes, and the benefits the State has gained from minerals have been clearly seen. Enterprises licensed to exploit minerals have been aware of enforcing the law. However, illegal small-scale mineral exploitation still occurs, causing difficulties in the management and protection of unexploited minerals. Therefore, to improve the effectiveness of mineral resource management, it is necessary to continue to amend and supplement regulations to more clearly regulate the protection of unexploited minerals; regulations allowing business households to exploit minerals for common construction materials and to exploit for full exploitation must be clear, specific, and fair.
In addition, the issue of mine closure must be strictly regulated, ensuring environmental protection, improvement, and restoration, avoiding overlapping and duplication of content, causing inconvenience to the community. Mine design work has not yet been specifically guided, causing confusion in State management of minerals.
Problems that need to be solved
One problem that many localities in Quang Nam have proposed to be resolved is that the current Mineral Law has not clearly defined the social responsibility of enterprises at the mining site, and is not specific about the level and rate of contribution and support for people. The regulation that organizations and individuals exploiting minerals are responsible for support in the regulations is still general and voluntary, and the responsibilities of organizations and individuals exploiting minerals must be unclear. This leads to the failure to ensure the rights of localities and people at the mining site.
“In reality, the number of mineral exploitation enterprises interested in supporting people and localities where minerals are located in the district is still modest. Currently, there are no sub-law documents guiding the implementation of this Article, so localities have no basis to handle it according to regulations. Voluntary budget contributions and infrastructure construction in mining areas are mainly based on agreements between enterprises, the state, local authorities and people.” - Mr. Ngo Bon - Deputy Head of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of Duy Xuyen district said.
Another problem is the overlap between the Land Law and the Mineral Law. According to the provisions of the Land Law, mineral exploitation projects under the licensing authority of the provincial People's Committee must carry out land procedures in the form of agreements with land users, not in the case of land recovery like mineral exploitation projects under the licensing authority of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment. This leads to the situation in Quang Nam that after being licensed for mineral activities, in many places, compensation and clearance are very difficult. Many enterprises after being licensed have not yet carried out exploitation because of the reason that no agreement has been reached between the enterprise and the affected people.
In addition, the regulations on the requirement to determine the cost of assessing mineral potential, the cost of mineral exploration that must be reimbursed due to the State's investment are still inadequate. The regulations on environmental improvement and restoration plans, mine directors, and mine closure procedures in cases of mineral exploitation in construction investment projects with excess soil and rock from leveling projects, short exploitation periods, and after the end of exploitation, the site has been created according to the project design are cumbersome and complicated. The lack and delay in promulgating legal documents guiding the implementation of the Law have created many difficulties and confusion in the management and operation of minerals at the local level.
Part 3: Suggestions for reasonable, sustainable and effective exploitation
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