HCM City collects $712.5 million in land-use change fees
HCM City announces approved land use master plan

A plot of land whose owner wants to change its use status in Vinh Loc B Commune in HCM City’s Binh Chanh District. -- VNS Photo Le Thang

A resident of Thu Duc District, who asked not to be named, said he had been waiting since August 2018 to register his land in Linh Xuan Ward.

An official at the relevant agency in Thu Duc said he could not accept the man’s application because the administration had not ratified the master plan for land use in the district.

A spokesman for Linh Xuan Ward said the local People’s Committee would receive instructions from the district People’s Committee in August.

In wards with large areas of agricultural lands such as Binh Chieu and Linh Xuan, there are around 100 households waiting to change the land use purpose.

Several communes in the suburban district of Hoc Mon have more than 200 such households each.

While Thu Duc and Hoc Mon are thought to have the largest numbers of such households, many people in other districts too are waiting anxiously.

A spokesman for the city Department of Natural Resources and Environment said district authorities were responsible for identifying lands to change their use and apprising local administrative units.

Relevant district agencies must specify the demands for land use by organisations and individuals, he said.

“Households and individuals must register the locations of their lands and size. Without [it, they] cannot change the land-use purposes”.

VNS