Editor's note: In June 2022, the National Assembly officially approved the Resolution on the investment policy of the Ring Road 4 Construction Project - Hanoi Capital Region. One year later, Ring Road 4 was officially started in all 3 localities through which the project passes: Hanoi, Hung Yen, and Bac Ninh.
With a length of 112.8 km, the project has a total initial investment of more than 85,000 billion VND, with the basic goal of completion in 2026 and operation from 2027. Ring Road 4 is expected to contribute to relieving traffic congestion, connecting provinces and creating new development space for the entire capital region.
Accordingly, the total land area to be recovered for the Project is 1,374 hectares, with about 25,000 households affected, mainly in Hanoi (nearly 13,000 households). Of the 1,374 hectares of land to be recovered, 59% is rice land, 19% is agricultural land, 2% is residential land and 20% is other types of land; that means that many households will lose or have their agricultural and residential land area reduced.
The policy of building the Ring Road 4 in the Capital Region has received high consensus and support from the people, even those whose land has been recovered have expressed their agreement and support. However, when there is no more land for production, what will farmers have to do to ensure their lives? Will the new place of residence be more stable and settled than the old place?... To record and find answers to the above questions, NTNN/Dan Viet Newspaper respectfully introduces the series of articles "Farmers behind the "super" Ring Road 4 Project - Capital Region".
Many farmers who have only known millions or tens of millions of dong all their lives are now compensated in lump sums, hundreds of millions or billions of dong, and they cannot help but "worry" about how to use that money effectively and in a balanced way, both to solve immediate problems and to plan for the long term, especially what to do when the fields and land are gone...
Share with the state policy, but still miss the fields...
The Beltway 4 project passes through Kim Hoa commune (Me Linh district) with a length of about 3.26km. To serve the project, Mr. Nguyen Manh Hung's family in Ngoc Tri village had 5.2 sao of rice land (equivalent to 1,872m2 of land), the most in the commune, confiscated. After receiving 1.6 billion VND in compensation, he and his wife "saved" it and divided it among their children.
Having spent his whole life in Kim Hoa, a land considered remote from the center of Hanoi, Mr. Hung only wandered around the village and the fields and did not think about the prospect that one day his commune would change its life thanks to the massive Ring Road 4 passing through. Because of that, he never thought that almost all of his family's fields would be confiscated to serve the project. Mr. Hung said that on the day he witnessed the first rollers and sand trucks leveling the ground to make the road, the people in the village and outside the commune were very excited and also felt proud when they were given their fields and ponds to serve the construction of the Ring Road 4 in the capital region. Around his village, every household agreed to hand over the land early to serve the road construction.
Ring Road 4 project running through Me Linh district (Hanoi). Photo: Nguyen Thai
In the story with the reporter, Mr. Hung continued, before, with more than 5 sao of rice fields, if the harvest failed, Mr. Hung's family still had enough rice to eat all year without having to buy it, and in favorable weather, they could sell rice to increase their income. Now that the largest area of cultivated land has been reclaimed, Mr. Hung said that it is quite difficult because every month he has to measure rice to eat, while he and his wife are over 60 years old, and do not have a pension other than collecting every penny from their scrap metal collection job. "If you have a lot of money, it will run out... if you still have land, you still have income, you still have a sustainable livelihood," he confided. Talking about the 1.6 billion VND that he received in compensation, Mr. Hung also said that the amount of money is not too large, but it also helps his family cover many immediate needs. However, in the long run, that amount of money is really not too much, it will run out after a long time, so he does not know what to do in the future...
Mr. Hung also said that although he lost his rice fields, he was lucky to still keep more than 1 sao of land that was not subject to recovery. However, due to his old age, he only rented out peach trees for a meager price of 800,000 VND/year.
Mr. Nguyen Manh Hung's family, Ngoc Tri village, Kim Hoa commune, Me Linh district (Hanoi) had 5.2 sao of rice land confiscated to serve the Ring Road 4 Project. Clip: Minh Ngoc
Leaving Kim Hoa commune, we headed down to Dan Phuong district, one of the localities with the longest length of Ring Road 4 running through it. Dan Phuong is famous for its cooperative fields, the good girls of "Dan Phuong, oh homeland of good girls, green cooperative fields plowing straight...", now those fields are being replaced by Ring Road 4 running through it. When we arrived, the construction of the parallel road was being rushed by contractors. Among the communes with Ring Road 4 passing through, Lien Hong commune has a fairly large area of land to be recovered. Up to now, the whole commune has recovered 8.45 hectares of agricultural land (including rice land and perennial crop land), of which Fund I land is 7.79 hectares, land managed by the Commune People's Committee is 0.67 hectares. The total number of households affected by the project is 213 households, equivalent to 304 plots of land. The commune has currently completed 100% of the land recovery.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Le, the daughter-in-law of Mr. Dang Van Tinh in Dong Lai village, and her husband were given 300 million VND from the compensation money from their parents for 4 sao of rice fields located entirely within the boundary of the Ring Road 4 project. When asked how she would use the compensation money, Ms. Le said she would set aside a reserve fund and partly pay off the debt for the house she built a few years ago. To ensure their daily lives, she and her husband will continue to work for hire.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Le, Dong Lai village, Lien Hong commune, Dan Phuong district (Hanoi) is happy to have the Ring Road 4 project passing through, but she said she is also worried about losing her production land. Photo: Minh Ngoc
With 1 sao of rice land given to her by her grandparents, although she does not directly cultivate, she still has extra income from lending out the fields. Now that there is no more land, she and her husband will definitely have to work harder to make ends meet.
Previously, Ms. Le rented out her farmland to grow rice, and in addition to the two main crops, she rented it out to others to grow water spinach. Although her income was not high, she still had some extra money to pay for her meals and groceries. Now that she no longer has land, she said she has to work harder and increase her working hours to earn more income.
"My parents and siblings all agree with the State's compensation price. We always support it and only hope that the Ring Road 4 Project will soon be completed and put into use," said Ms. Le.
According to our investigation, Mr. Dang Van Tinh's family was paid 1.7 billion VND in compensation for land clearance and so far his family has received the entire amount. Learning from previous stories of receiving compensation for land in many places, the recipients built houses, bought everything, and lost their long-term financial resources, his family divided the money equally for their children to "handle" themselves, while the grandparents kept a sum for their old age.
Mr. Dang Van Tinh's family in Dong Lai village, Lien Hong commune, Dan Phuong district (Hanoi) received 1.7 billion VND in compensation when their land was recovered for the Ring Road 4 project. Photo: Minh Ngoc
Informing Dan Viet reporters about the land recovery situation and ensuring the livelihood of local people, Mr. Nguyen Chi Muu - Vice Chairman of Lien Hong Commune People's Committee (Dan Phuong District) affirmed that the recovered agricultural land area of the commune will not affect the income and life of local people. "The rice-growing land area in Lien Hong is mainly located in interspersed and fragmented locations, so the farming efficiency is low. Local people's main income comes from carpentry and construction, or from working in the inner city," said Mr. Muu.
Informing Dan Viet, a representative of the Hanoi City Traffic Construction Investment Project Management Board said that, up to now, localities in the city where the Ring Road 4 Project passes through have recovered 771.91/791.21 hectares of land, of which agricultural land and other land is about 767.85, residential land is about 4.06 hectares. The remaining 19.3 hectares have not completed site clearance work, of which 8.67 hectares are agricultural land and other land, 10.63 hectares are residential land (about 493 households have agricultural land, 865 households have residential land).
Land not recovered also left abandoned
Tren village is a Catholic village located close to National Highway 21B in Bich Hoa commune (Thanh Oai district - Hanoi), so the urbanization speed in the village is very fast, most of the high-rise buildings are numbered and have signs. The village roads are also narrow with many winding and nooks and crannies. However, in addition to trading because it is close to the market, the villagers still mainly cultivate rice, so the confiscation of most of the agricultural land makes their lives more difficult.
Mr. Nguyen Van Hiep, 61 years old, has 4 sao of land, of which 3 sao must be recovered to serve the Ring Road 4 project. "When I was invited to the commune meeting about the project, everyone in my commune agreed and highly agreed. The State's policy must be strictly followed, especially for an important and large-scale project like this. I just stood up and asked them (commune leaders) that when the land is recovered, is there any solution to help us stabilize our lives? For myself, I have no job, no civil servant, my family is in difficulty... I really hope you guys can help people have more livelihoods or jobs to earn more income," Mr. Hiep told Dan Viet.
Mr. Hiep himself mainly works for hire, doing whatever he is hired to do. He plans to grow rice twice a year on the remaining 1 sao of land, to "recoup the money and buy rice", but he cannot do all of that 1 sao, because there is about 100m2 located close to the construction area of the Project, so it is difficult to cultivate effectively.
The Ring Road 4 - Capital Region project through Thanh Oai district has a length of 7.9km.
Mr. Nguyen Van Giang, Head of Tren Village, Bich Hoa Commune, also admitted that there was a situation where some land areas in the village were abandoned by the people because they could not be cultivated. "During the construction of Ring Road 4, the irrigation canal system was affected, so people could not bring water to the fields to continue production. This spring crop, many areas of land had to be left unused. The households have also petitioned the commune many times to let them return to the fields soon, but there are still problems that cannot be completely resolved," said Mr. Giang.
Bich Hoa Commune (Thanh Oai District) is a locality where the Ring Road 4 Project passes through and 100% of the land area to be recovered is agricultural land. The total rice-growing area of the commune is 281.7 hectares; the area recovered for the Ring Road 4 is 22.8 hectares. Currently, 100% of the land has been cleared.
Speaking with Dan Viet, Mr. Nguyen Van Bien, Chairman of Bich Hoa Commune People's Committee, affirmed that the confiscation of 22.4 hectares of rice fields to build Ring Road 4 did not greatly affect the local agricultural production situation. However, "each household has its own circumstances, so the commune listens to and records the opinions of the people, making a basis for recommendations to higher levels for resolution."
Regarding the situation where there are households whose land is not recovered but cannot cultivate due to the impact of the construction of Ring Road 4, Mr. Bien said that he has received feedback from the people and reported it to his superiors. "In the beginning, the construction will inevitably affect the production and daily life of the people, but gradually it will stabilize again," Mr. Bien affirmed.
Passing by a few points where the Ring Road 4 project is under construction, we saw roads gradually taking shape with dense equipment and machinery and a team of workers and engineers working day and night to meet the project's progress. Behind those roads are fields that once produced rice grains and potatoes. Behind those fields are farmers who have been attached to them all their lives. However, for the common benefit of the country's socio-economic development, they did not hesitate to share and sacrifice their interests to give up land and space for the project...
(to be continued)
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