The recent consecutive major human casualties, although different in field, are similar in that the incidents reveal "dark corners" of wrongdoing and violations.
After heartbreaking incidents such as the Thanh Buoi bus accident, the landslide in Da Lat, and the mini apartment fire in Hanoi that killed 56 people, there was a process of investigation, review, and handling of the responsibilities of related organizations and individuals.
Finding the cause and plugging the loopholes from such incidents is essential, because only by promoting management responsibility, proactively preventing and handling violations early can risks be limited.
The fire at the mini apartment building on Khuong Ha Street (Than Xuan District, Hanoi) caused serious human losses, revealing that a series of works by Mr. Nghiem Quang Minh all violated construction and fire prevention regulations.
According to Major General Nguyen Thanh Tung, Deputy Director of Hanoi City Police, Mr. Nghiem Quang Minh's 8 mini apartments were built in Thanh Xuan, Dong Da, Tay Ho, and Nam Tu Liem districts.
Hanoi City Police leaders said the main violations of the above constructions were building extra floors and not ensuring fire prevention and fighting requirements.
Not thoroughly handling violations
After the fire at the mini apartment building at No. 37, Alley 29/70, Khuong Ha Street (Thanh Xuan District, Hanoi) that killed 56 people, the Standing Committee of the Hanoi Party Committee established a delegation to inspect signs of violations with 3 Party organizations: the Standing Committee of the Thanh Xuan District Party Committee, the Thanh Xuan District Police Party Committee and the Khuong Dinh Ward Party Committee during the two terms of 2015-2020 and 2020-2025.
According to the initial investigation results of the City Police, the house where the fire broke out showed signs of serious violations of construction order and regulations on fire prevention and fighting.
Investigation by VietNamNet reporters shows that construction violations in this mini apartment building have existed for many years and have not been thoroughly handled.
Specifically, in March 2015, Thanh Xuan district granted Mr. Nghiem Quang Minh a permit to build this building with a height of 6 floors. However, in reality, this building was built into a mini apartment building, with 9 floors, 45 apartments, and about 150 residents.
Sharing with reporters, Mr. NVT (a resident of alley 29/70 Khuong Ha street) said that during the process of Mr. Minh building the mini apartment building, it caused a lot of frustration and concern for people in the area, especially regarding fire prevention issues.
“It was not until the fire broke out, causing heartbreaking consequences, that we learned that this mini apartment building was built without permission. Mr. Minh’s construction process caused a lot of frustration, and we, the people, also petitioned but the government did not enforce it,” said Mr. NVT.
Also living in alley 29/70 Khuong Ha street, Ms. PTV was also upset that the local government had not previously listened thoroughly to people's opinions on strictly implementing construction and fire prevention regulations.
“No matter how upset we were, Mr. Nghiem Quang Minh continued to build the project without permission. And when the project was completed, the people’s comments were not taken into account, we were also discouraged,” said Mr. TVH (a resident of alley 70 Khuong Ha).
Colonel Duong Duc Hai, Deputy Director of Hanoi City Police, assessed this as a typical case of responsibility of functional forces managing construction order at the grassroots level.
Meanwhile, speaking with VietNamNet reporter, Mr. Dang Hong Thai, former Vice Chairman of Thanh Xuan District People's Committee (the person who signed the decision to grant the license for the project at No. 37, Alley 29/70, Khuong Ha Street) confirmed that when the homeowner built without permission, he had 2 documents directing punishment.
"I have also issued a decision on enforcement and assigned the Chairman of Khuong Dinh Ward to carry out the enforcement decision. What happens next must be checked again," said Mr. Thai.
Regarding why mini apartment building No. 37 was not "cut off", the leader of Khuong Dinh Ward People's Committee and the leader of Thanh Xuan District Construction Order Management Team both said that the incident had been going on for a long time, so it was necessary to review the records to know clearly in order to provide information.
Management "loophole": Decision to enforce, illegal construction still exists
Many meetings with voters, meetings of the City People's Council, concerns and questions about responsibility for the current situation of illegal construction and exceeding the number of floors have been raised. However, there is a "smoldering" reality, many illegal constructions such as the mini apartment building in Khuong Ha, although they were built illegally, although people had opinions, the handling steps only stopped at the "state" of issuing a decision to enforce, but in reality they still exist.
The existence of illegal constructions and the "complicated" handling, according to Mr. Pham Quang Nghi, former Secretary of the Hanoi Party Committee, is due to "backing forces".
"When dealing with building violations, we not only have to deal with the investor, but also with the backing force," said Mr. Nghi.
And from the fire that killed 56 people, Hanoi City requested a general inspection of fire prevention conditions in mini apartments.
According to Major General Nguyen Thanh Tung, Deputy Director of Hanoi City Police, with 8 other illegal construction works of Mr. Nghiem Quang Minh, the authorities have issued decisions to temporarily suspend and suspend operations.
A general review, finding the cause, and "plugging the loopholes" in construction management in general and mini apartments in particular is an urgent task that must be done.
More importantly, as the Secretary of the Hanoi Party Committee Dinh Tien Dung directed, it is necessary to investigate the problem from the root, starting from the licensing stage of the building. Up to now, in addition to the arrest of Mr. Nghiem Quang Minh - the building owner, the Hanoi Police Investigation Agency has also summoned many officials of Thanh Xuan district to work.
In addition, three Party organizations including the Standing Committee of Thanh Xuan District Party Committee, Thanh Xuan District Police Party Committee and Khuong Dinh Ward Party Committee for the two terms 2015-2020 and 2020-2025 were also inspected for signs of violations.
National Assembly delegate Pham Van Hoa raised the question of whether ordinary people would build projects like Mr. Nghiem Quang Minh's mini apartment building. According to him, this is a story of "an elephant going through the eye of a needle".
"Therefore, I request the police to investigate and clarify who 'backed' him, who covered up, and who allowed Mr. Nghiem Quang Minh to build extra floors without being thoroughly punished," said delegate Pham Van Hoa, adding that the most important thing is to thoroughly handle the violations from the beginning.
And to avoid the above unfortunate incidents, former Secretary of the Hanoi Party Committee Pham Quang Nghi said that we must resolutely 'cut off the top' of illegal constructions. "The number of floors in a construction that is illegal must be cut down. If we allow it to exist, the officials in charge will have an excuse not to enforce it," said Mr. Nghi.
Initial review shows that the whole city has about 2,000 mini apartments, most of which are concentrated in Bac Tu Liem, Nam Tu Liem, Dong Da, Thanh Xuan, Cau Giay, Tay Ho districts...
Director of the Department of Construction Vo Nguyen Phong said that with mini apartments, when the construction permit was granted, it was a separate project, then the owner arbitrarily converted it against the law. The Department of Construction will have working groups to coordinate with districts to inspect and handle the above issue.
Regarding the same issue, Mr. Ha Minh Hai - Vice Chairman of Hanoi People's Committee said that the city is conducting a comprehensive review of individual housing types with many apartments (mini apartments) and boarding houses to have a comprehensive assessment and overcome shortcomings.
"The city's leadership's viewpoint is to resolutely not legalize mini-apartments that violate the law and to resolutely handle them. We cannot let the city's regulations be exploited or intentionally exploited, and we cannot turn a blind eye to individuals and organizations that violate the law," Mr. Hai affirmed.
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