Removing obstacles to auctioning off land plots that have been recovered from businesses. Part 2 - Why must land be left there after being recovered?

Besides the objective causes due to many difficulties, there are also subjective causes due to the fact that the authorities and local governments have not really actively participated and given strong advice in the handling process.

Many problems

According to regulations, one of the conditions for reclaimed land to be put into use or auctioned is to ensure that the land is clean and in accordance with regional planning, land use planning and other relevant planning. However, through the reporter's investigation, most of the land the province reclaimed from enterprises had problems with planning and assets on the land.

Regarding the land recovered from Viglacera Tu Son Joint Stock Company in Cam Thuong Ward (Hai Duong City), through the working and checking process of the authorities, it was found that on the land there are many production lines, machinery, equipment, and factories that are still usable. The company requested support for dismantling, moving, and investment costs in the remaining land. However, after working with relevant agencies, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment affirmed that there is no legal basis to resolve the enterprise's request. At the same time, it is requested that the Provincial People's Committee direct the Hai Duong City People's Committee to preside over requesting Viglacera Tu Son Joint Stock Company to move its assets out of the recovered land. In case of non-compliance, the organization will forcibly move the assets to have a clean site for the auction of land use rights.

According to the People's Committee of Kinh Mon town, on the land recovered from Vicem Hoang Thach Cement One Member Co., Ltd. in Tan Dan ward (Kinh Mon), there are still 24 level 4 houses made of Norwegian pine wood, 1 guard house and shed, water treatment tank, swimming pool. In 2018 and 2019, all assets on the land were sold by Vicem Hoang Thach Cement One Member Co., Ltd. to Thien Phu Trading Co., Ltd. and Hoang Phu Co., Ltd. Currently, the units that bought the assets have not yet relocated the assets on the land to return the clean site. In addition, in the total current area of ​​the recovered land, there are more than 1,400 m²of 6 families and individuals are using, of which 5 households have been granted certificates of land use rights, 1 household encroached to live. Some illegal constructions on the land of households and individuals have not been completely handled. Along with that, the type of land recovered according to the current land use planning is not uniform, leading to difficulties in consulting on land use rights auctions.

A representative of Ninh Giang district's leadership informed that the land the province had reclaimed from Hai Duong Clean Water Trading Joint Stock Company since 2016 in Ninh Giang town is about 250 m2 wide.²but so far there has been no solution. The land is located outside the dike adjacent to the Luoc River bank, and there is actually no road to access. The enterprise also requested to be reimbursed for the remaining value of the assets on the land. Regarding the type of land to be recovered, there is currently no consistency between the planning, land use plan and the district's regional planning. Specifically, the planning and land use plan remain as non-agricultural production land, while according to the regional planning, the recovered land is identified as commercial service land...

Shake it up

Along with the difficulties due to objective reasons as mentioned above, in reality, many years ago, there was a situation where the functional agencies and local authorities did not really care and intervene to coordinate and propose solutions. Therefore, the auction consultation work only stopped at some areas. Only when the leaders of the Provincial People's Committee strongly directed did the implementation have specific changes.

In recent years, the Provincial People's Committee has issued many directive documents to speed up the progress of auctioning land use rights for recovered land plots in the province, such as Document No. 4309/UBND-VP dated November 22, 2021, Document No. 1892/UBND-VP dated June 2, 2023, Document 2891/UBND-VP dated August 7, 2023... However, the implementation and consultation on proposals for auctioning land use rights for recovered land plots in the province are still very slow.

In recent times, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment has focused on implementing many solutions. The Department has presided over and coordinated with the Department of Finance and the People's Committees of districts where the land fund that the Provincial People's Committee has decided to reclaim is located, and assigned the Land Fund Development Center to manage and survey, coordinate to remove obstacles for each land plot. On that basis, classify each obstacle to propose appropriate solutions in the direction of prioritizing the solution of auctioning land use rights according to the provisions of law.

In early November 2023, the Department of Finance conducted field surveys at a number of enterprises and worked with departments, branches and localities to review the recovered land plots with property problems, determine the remaining value of the property to return to the enterprise when the State recovers the land without compensation. The review results showed that, of the 12 recovered land plots with property on the land, there were 3 recovered land plots of Vinafood I Hai Duong Joint Stock Company and 1 land plot of Hai Duong Clean Water Business Joint Stock Company in Ninh Giang district with grounds to report to competent authorities for consideration and decision to return the remaining value of the property to the enterprise.

According to the Department of Natural Resources and Environment, by November 2023, the Land Fund Development Center is managing 26 non-agricultural land plots with a total area of ​​over 22.1 hectares. Of these, 7 plots are carrying out work to serve the auction of land use rights, 13 plots can be auctioned but still have problems with planning, assets on land or other problems, and 6 plots are not eligible for auction. The Department of Natural Resources and Environment has reported and advised the Provincial People's Committee to direct and resolve specific issues.

Next: Leaving the land fallow for "gold"