Confusion over land lease between farmers and a civil servant in Tu Ky

Conflict

Many people in Ngoc Ly village, Ngoc Ky commune, Tu Ky district reported that Mr. Nguyen Duc Trung (from Dai Dinh village, also in Ngoc Ky commune, currently an officer of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of Tu Ky district) rented their fields for a 10-year period from 2012-2022, and now the term has expired but Mr. Trung has not returned the fields to the people.

Mr. Nguyen Van Thanh, a resident of Ngoc Ly village, said his family rented nearly 600 square meters to Mr. Trung.²rice fields in Chieu De field area. The lease is for a period of 10 years from 2012-2022, without signing a contract but only verbal agreement and exchange. The rent is converted from rice with a starting price of 5,000 VND/kg, then changes according to market price.

“We request Mr. Trung to return the land to the people according to the original agreement for cultivation and production. Although we have petitioned the commune, the issue has not been thoroughly resolved,” said Mr. Thanh.

Mr. Pham Van Ca's family, a resident of Ngoc Ly village, also has more than 1,000 m²The rice fields were leased to Mr. Trung. Mr. Ca said that at the time of signing the contract, Mr. Trung kept all relevant documents. “Mr. Trung went to each household to lobby for the lease, then organized a meeting at the village cultural house. I confirmed that the land lease period of the people with Mr. Trung was 10 years from 2012-2022, but due to subjective psychology, we did not keep the contract,” Mr. Ca said.

Working with reporters, Mr. Nguyen Duc Trung, who rents fields from households in Ngoc Ly village, said that the agreement between him and the people had a signed contract, confirmation from the Commune People's Committee and minutes of the village meeting.

Mr. Trung only provided the photojournalist with a few contracts. In the three contracts for leasing fields that Mr. Trung provided, including those for households of Mr. Nguyen Van Thanh, Nguyen Trung Kien and Nguyen Huu Luan, all in Ngoc Ly village, the lease term was stated to be 15 years, starting from January 2, 2014. The lease payment is on October 1 every year.

"Mr. Nguyen Van Thanh said that there was only a verbal agreement, which is not true because there is a contract signed with Mr. Thanh as well as the households whose fields are rented. I have paid the rent until the end of 2023. The payment for 2024 will be made in October," said Mr. Trung.

In the minutes of the meeting of Ngoc Ly villageDecember 12, 2013 byMr. Trung provided that 86/98 households with fields for rent present at the meeting agreed to let Mr. Trung lease the fields in Chieu De area of ​​the village for economic purposes.

The unusual points

In the photos of the contracts provided by Mr. Trung, there are the signatures of leaders and the confirmation seal of the People's Committee of Ngoc Ky Commune. Mr. Pham Van Hoi, former Chairman of the People's Committee of Ngoc Ky Commune, said that he confirmed the signing of the land lease contract certification between the households and Mr. Trung. However, due to the long time that had passed, he could no longer remember the contents of the contract and he only confirmed some contracts, not all land lease contracts.

Mr. Hoi also added that Mr. Trung had asked the Commune People's Committee to approve the implementation of the Project to improve fields, produce and do business on some low-efficiency rice growing areas in Chieu De area, Dai Dinh and Ngoc Ly villages and was approved.

From the information provided by the parties, the reporter found that due to conflicts over the land lease term (10 years and 15 years), the information about the land lease period between the land lessors and Mr. Trung was also different (2012-2022 and 2014-2029).

In the photos of the contract provided by Mr. Trung, it is said that the contract was made into 3 copies (each copy consists of 4 sheets, 4 pages) so that Mr. Trung and the people each keep 1 copy and keep 1 copy at the Commune People's Committee.

But I don't understand whyo some people say not to keep the contractThe People's Committee of Ngoc Ky commune also did not store the contracts. On the pages of the contract, there was only Mr. Trung's initials, not the initials of the households. The initials on Mr. Trung's pages were in a different type of ink than the signature at the end of the contract.

Speaking to reporters, Mr. Nguyen Van Khuong, Head of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of Tu Ky district, said that the households leasing fields and the tenants are still using the land for the right purpose, so this is not against the regulations. Mr. Khuong said that it is the lack of strict agreement, signing, and storage of contracts between the parties that leads to conflicts.

According to the reporter's investigation, up to now, the households and Mr. Trung have not provided the People's Committee of Ngoc Ky commune with sufficient evidence and contracts related to the land lease. To resolve the above dispute, the parties must provide complete documents and actively cooperate with the local authorities. The households can also initiate civil lawsuits, requesting the court to resolve the case according to the law.