On March 20, information from the People's Committee of Quang Binh province said that it has just requested districts, towns and cities in the area to review the plan to arrange commune-level administrative units.

Accordingly, some commune-level administrative units proposed by localities have not fully met the standards on natural area and population size as prescribed by the Central Government, so the Provincial People's Committee requested the units to carefully review to ensure that the arrangement process is in accordance with the principles and criteria set out.

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Quang Binh Provincial People's Committee requested localities to review commune arrangement plans and report before March 22. Photo: Contributor

The province requires the rearrangement and reorganization of communes and towns in the district to establish new communes (commune clusters) with natural areas and larger population sizes than the current standards of communes and towns. The rearrangement must be consistent with the geographical location, natural conditions, specific factors, and have a scale and level of economic development that meets the requirements of grassroots management in the new situation.

Encourage the consolidation of administrative units as they are instead of adjusting part of administrative boundaries, except in cases where it is convenient for management work and people's lives.

Quang Binh Provincial People's Committee also clearly stipulates criteria on area and population for each region.

For natural area: Mountainous commune from 150 km² or more, plain commune from 90 km² or more, ward from 35 km² or more.

The population size of mountainous communes is from 15,000 people or more, mountainous and border communes with a large ethnic minority population are from 7,500 people or more, plain communes are from 24,000 people or more, and wards are from 50,000 people or more.

In case of merging 5 or more commune-level administrative units to form a new unit, there is no need to evaluate the standards. If merging less than 5 communes but not meeting the area or population criteria, the locality must have a specific explanation of geographical factors, traffic or important role in national defense and security.

In addition to the area and population criteria, the Provincial People's Committee also requires localities to consider specific factors such as history, culture, ethnicity, religion, beliefs, customs and practices, as well as economic development conditions, security - defense and traffic infrastructure.