Video: Businesses 'occupy' land, illegally exploit minerals in Thua Thien - Hue
In Phong An commune (Phong Dien district, Thua Thien - Hue province), there is a road that is always covered with a thick layer of dust and full of potholes. It is dusty in the dry season and muddy in the rainy season. This is the main road to the 1-5 Forestry Joint Stock Company's quarry in Phuong Hop village (Phong An commune).
According to local residents, the road used to be relatively flat, but after years of carrying trucks transporting soil, it has now become rough and difficult to travel, forcing people to avoid it. VTC News reporters also tried to enter the quarry via the above road, but after only a short distance, they had to stop because the car scraped the bottom of the vehicle, even though they were using a high-chassis SUV.
To get into this mine, we had to hitchhike on a large truck. Although the distance from National Highway 1A to the mining site was only about 5km, the road was so bad that the truck had to crawl little by little, so it took us nearly 30 minutes to get there.
Upon arriving, what caught our eyes was the sight of more than 8 hectares of land dug up with holes ranging from 10 to more than 20 meters deep.
Recorded at the morning of August 29, two large excavators were working hard to load soil onto large trucks. Dozens of trucks of all sizes took turns transporting soil from the mine area.
It is worth noting that this massive land exploitation activity was carried out in the context that Forestry Joint Stock Company 1-5 had not fully completed the necessary procedures before exploiting minerals in accordance with the law.
Specifically, 1-5 Forestry Joint Stock Company was permitted by the People's Committee of Thua Thien - Hue province to exploit soil minerals as filling materials by open-pit method in Hop Ward area (Phong An commune, Phong Dien district) according to Mineral Exploitation License No. 63/GP-UBND dated November 3, 2022. The exploitation area in the license is 8.93 hectares and the exploitation period is 2 years (from the date of signing) with the approved natural geological reserve of 1,160,742 m3. The exploitation capacity in the first year is 550,000 m3/year and in the second year is 547,531 m3/year.
In the mineral exploitation license granted by the People's Committee of Thua Thien - Hue province to Forestry Joint Stock Company 1-5, there is a paragraph stating: "Before carrying out exploitation, it is necessary to submit the mine design prepared, appraised and approved in accordance with the provisions of law to the competent state agency as prescribed;... It is necessary to carry out land lease procedures before carrying out exploitation and other relevant regulations as prescribed by law"
The license stipulates that, but Forestry Joint Stock Company 1-5 still exploits land in a massive manner in the land mine area in Phuong Hop village without converting the land use purpose and without leasing the land.
According to people living near the mine area, this illegal mining has been going on for a long time but has not been detected or stopped by local authorities and competent agencies. Many people also said that the illegal land mining activities of the 1-5 Forestry Joint Stock Company in Phuong Hop village are like "an elephant going through the eye of a needle".
It was not until VTC News reporters proactively contacted the leaders of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment Inspectorate of Thua Thien - Hue province at noon on August 29 that the inspection team, including leaders and officers of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment and the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of Phong Dien district, entered the above-mentioned land exploitation site and made a record, requesting representatives of 1-5 Forestry Joint Stock Company to stop exploitation activities and remove all machinery and equipment from the site.
Responding to VTC News reporters, the leader of the Phong Dien District Department of Natural Resources and Environment said that the unit had sent many documents requesting the 1/5 Forestry Joint Stock Company to complete land lease procedures according to regulations before exploitation. However, this enterprise still exploited illegally. This act is illegal "land occupation", depending on the volume of land that this unit illegally profits, it will be handled according to the provisions of law. Meanwhile, the leader of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment Inspectorate said that after making a record of the scene and requesting to stop exploitation, the unit will report to the Department's leaders and take the next steps.
Currently, Thua Thien - Hue has about 66 mineral mines in operation, of which about 50 mines have licenses issued by the province and about 16 licenses issued by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment. Recently, the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee also issued an official dispatch requesting the Department of Natural Resources and Environment to preside over and coordinate with relevant agencies to inspect and thoroughly resolve existing problems and violations in mineral activities; to close mineral mines for mineral areas whose exploitation period has expired; to urge the implementation of financial obligations and other related obligations of organizations and individuals operating in mineral activities in accordance with the provisions of law.
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