Hot issues of environmental pollution, mineral exploitation and management of agricultural and forestry land

At the discussion session in the hall on the afternoon of December 5, the 25th session of the 18th Nghe An Provincial People's Council, delegates raised many hot issues related to the environment, mineral exploitation, and land management, requiring the authorities to resolve them decisively and have specific solutions. These issues were discussed enthusiastically by delegates, aiming to find effective solutions and overcome shortcomings in environmental management, resource exploitation and land.

Standing Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of the Provincial People's Council Hoang Nghia Hieu chaired the discussion session.

Environmental pollution problem

Delegate Tran Dinh Toan (Do Luong) raised the serious environmental pollution situation in areas such as Dong Vinh landfill, Oncology Hospital, Cua Lo landfill, Tan Ky landfill and Thai Duong pig farm. He expressed concern about the serious impact of these facilities on public health and the living environment of people in the area. Delegate Toan suggested that the Provincial People's Committee should pay more attention and be more drastic, allocate reasonable funding to completely handle these environmental pollution points, and at the same time strengthen inspection and supervision.

Delegate Tran Dinh Toan (Do Luong) spoke in the discussion.

Director of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment Hoang Quoc Viet explained that currently, the province has 5 facilities with serious environmental pollution that have not been thoroughly handled. Among them, the facilities that delegate Toan mentioned are all pollution hotspots. The Department of Natural Resources and Environment is fully aware of this situation and is actively coordinating with localities and investors to implement pollution treatment measures to protect public health and the environment. Mr. Viet also said that in 2024, the province will continue to urge localities and public facilities to implement pollution treatment measures and advise the Provincial People's Committee to allocate the budget to thoroughly resolve environmental hotspots.

Delegates attending.

In particular, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment has directed relevant agencies to handle polluting facilities, including the Oncology Hospital, Dong Vinh landfill, Cua Lo landfill, Tan Ky landfill, Thai Duong pig farm (Do Luong), and especially the pig farm that stopped operating since 2019 but has not completed the handling procedures. The Department has focused on working with the relevant company to remove it from the list of facilities causing serious environmental pollution. The head of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment emphasized that in the coming time, the Department will continue to coordinate with relevant agencies to monitor and urge the implementation of measures to handle polluting facilities.

Difficulties in mineral exploitation and natural disaster prevention

Another notable issue is the shortage of construction materials in mountainous areas, which affects the progress of construction and project implementation. Delegate Nguyen Cong Van (Nghi Loc) raised this issue and said that there should be proactive prevention solutions for natural disasters such as landslides, flash floods and floods, in order to minimize damage caused by natural disasters. Delegate Van proposed the need to build an environmental impact assessment system to proactively prevent landslides, flash floods and other natural disasters. According to him, the authorities need to mobilize all forces to conduct environmental impact assessments and have effective prevention plans.

Delegate Nguyen Cong Van (Nghi Loc) spoke at the discussion.

The head of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment explained the exploitation of construction materials in mountainous areas. Mr. Viet said that according to the provisions of the 2010 Mineral Law, all construction material mines must be auctioned. However, the auctioning of construction material mines in mountainous areas is difficult due to the limited demand of enterprises. The Department has coordinated with the Department of Construction to advise the Provincial People's Committee on planning soil, rock and sand mines in mountainous areas and organizing auctions. However, some enterprises have registered to participate in the auction but cannot meet the demand for materials in this area. This has caused difficulties in ensuring the supply of materials for construction projects.

The Director of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment also informed that some districts such as Anh Son and Con Cuong have done a good job of exploiting construction materials within the scope of the project, helping to ensure the source of materials for the projects in the area. However, sand exploitation in rivers in mountainous areas also faces many difficulties due to steep terrain, low sand accumulation, and some areas of sand exploitation in hydropower plants are entangled in regulations. The Department of Natural Resources and Environment has reported and proposed that the Government amend Decree 32 to create more favorable conditions for sand exploitation in hydropower reservoirs to serve mountainous projects.

In the coming time, the province will continue to plan construction material mines, especially in mountainous areas, and will take steps to amend and supplement the 2010 Mineral Law to make the auction procedures for construction material mines simpler and easier. Localities will also continue to coordinate with competent agencies to promote and mobilize businesses to participate in the auction of construction material mines to serve projects in the area.

Management of agricultural and forestry land and site clearance

Another issue raised was the management of agricultural and forestry land, especially the recovery and allocation of land to localities. This issue was questioned at the 2023 Provincial People's Council meeting and was discussed at this meeting. Delegates said that the recovery and allocation of agricultural and forestry land still faces many difficulties, especially when there are assets on the land that have not been processed. According to the Director of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment, the Provincial People's Committee has issued a plan to recover 107.3 hectares of agricultural and forestry land and transfer it to localities for management. However, this recovery has encountered some difficulties, as many areas of land already have crops and people are still producing on the land. Some districts have not been able to allocate land to people because of problems in handling assets on the land.

Director of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment Hoang Quoc Viet explained and clarified the opinions of delegates.

The Department of Natural Resources and Environment will continue to coordinate with relevant agencies and localities to review the areas of agricultural and forestry land, continue to reclaim and hand over to the people for management. The districts will have to work with relevant units to complete the allocation of land to the people. At the same time, to increase the efficiency of land use, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment will advise the Provincial People's Committee to direct the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to improve the efficiency of agricultural and forestry land use, especially for ineffective production land areas.

Regarding the site clearance of projects, especially the project to upgrade and expand National Highway 1A, delegate Tran Ngoc Son (Tan Ky) was concerned about the delay in payment, compensation, and site clearance, causing the progress of the projects to be delayed. The Director of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment explained that the site clearance work encountered the most difficulties in areas such as Quynh Xuan (Hoang Mai Town), Cau Giat (Quynh Luu), Dien Chau, Nghi Loc, and Vinh City. However, the Department has worked with localities and the Department of Transport to urge the disbursement of capital from the Central Government and is urgently completing procedures to pay affected households.

Delegates attending.

Chairing the discussion on this content, Standing Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of the Provincial People's Council Hoang Nghia Hieu requested the Department of Natural Resources and Environment to coordinate with relevant agencies to direct the search for solutions to overcome the shortage of construction materials, especially for construction soil mines in mountainous areas. Enterprises participating in bidding will face difficulties if they have to buy land from people or compensate for materials on the land, which reduces the motivation for exploitation. Because when enterprises enter people's land, they have to buy land and compensate for materials on the land. If there is a solution to allocate appropriate public land funds, it will create conditions for enterprises to bid without having to spend additional costs on land purchase. Localities should also consider responsibility when not arranging land resources for leveling in the area.

Standing Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of the Provincial People's Council Hoang Nghia Hieu chaired the discussion session.

Although, at the 17th session of the 18th Provincial People's Council, the Director of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment promised to have specific solutions to convert agricultural and forestry land as quickly as possible. The Department is requested to have a clearer report at the meeting at the end of this year. However, the Chairman of the Provincial People's Council also shared about the difficulties in implementing this issue, because it requires concentrated direction from the province to the locality to unify the area to be returned. After returning, the locality also needs funds to measure and redistribute the land to the people. In fact, some localities have not had time to redistribute, there are individuals illegally encroaching, leading to time-consuming dispute resolution... There needs to be a foundation from the province to the grassroots, dedicating time and resources to resolve the issue completely. The Department has a summary report to explain the promise from the previous session.

PV Group

Source: https://www.truyenhinhnghean.vn/thoi-su-chinh-tri/202412/nong-van-de-o-nhiem-moi-truong-khai-thac-khoang-san-va-quan-ly-dat-nong-lam-truong-00047e4/