VietNamNet Bridge – National Assembly deputies have called for better handling of land issues, after finding almost half of the 700,000 complaints and denunciations on land issues filed during 2008-11 were proved correct or partially correct.

Inconsistent legal documents, ineffective land management and unreasonable compensation mechanisms were three main causes to land-related complaints and denunciations, accounting for 70 per cent of the total number of objections, said National Assembly deputies during their discussions yesterday.

Nguyen Van Giau, chairman of the NA's Economic Committee said there were a lot of inconsistencies and overlaps between the Land Law and the dozens of other legal documents covering land-related regulations which were ratified in recent years.

These regulations were also shown to be unfeasible and unstable when they failed to cover the emerging land-related issues, he said.

Giau said instances where compensation prices for land revocations fell much lower than market prices were the main cause for citizens' complaints and denunciations.

Deputy Khuc Thi Huyen from Thai Binh Province said the practice of fixing compensation prices in many localities was not only unreasonable but also unfair.

"No one can feel satisfied when land lots revoked for a project are just separated by a ditch, but prices on one side of the ditch are 15 times higher than those on the other."

Deputy Huynh Van Tiep from Can Tho Province said investors responsible for settling compensation claims did not uphold their initial promises and often gave less money than had been agreed.

He also said many people were forced to become homeless when relevant authorities or investors failed to provide them with reasonable resettlement accommodations.

Meanwhile, deputy Ho Thi Thuy from Vinh Phuc Province cited another unreasonable compensation mechanism that failed to provide job support or training to those whose production land had been revoked.

She said they were left to fend for themselves with no production land to maintain an income.

Regarding land management, Deputy Nguyen Thai Hoc from Phu Yen Province said many local authorities had no comprehensive plans for land usage and often allocated to unfeasible projects, leading to deserted land lots.

"People whose production land has been revoked feel angry because their land lots become waste while they have nowhere to continue production."

Deputy Nguyen Thi Kha from Tra Vinh Province agreed and said incapable authorities made wrong decisions by granting land usage certificates or land purpose transfers to certain projects.

Deputy Thuy from Vinh Phuc Province said poor management often led to land usage disputes and that when these occured, the management often lacked the capabilities and skills to settle them. They were also uncommunicative and fail to listen to people's concerns, she said.

All of these issues contributed to the large number of land-related complaints and denunciations nationwide, however fixing them can often lead to further complications, according to the deputies.

General Government Inspectorate Director Huynh Phong Tranh said: "Nearly 80 per cent of the 528 prolonged denunciations are linked to land-related issues. Among them, many have been pending for 20–30 years."

Giau said delays in settling land complaints and denunciations were caused by "a number of contradictions between Land Law and other laws such as Law on Complaints and Denunciations, leading to prolonged or delayed cases."

"For example, Land Law does not stipulate the settlement duration period of denunciations, while the Law on Complaints and Denunciations sets the settlement period at 30 days," he said.

He said there was also lack of co-ordination between relevant agencies in solving these cases.

Tranh said many relevant authorities display an irresponsible approach to solving these cases, causing anger and dissatisfaction among the public.

To settle these shortcomings, deputies put forward initiatives for revisions to the Land Law and other relevant legal regulations that raise the effectiveness of land management and usage at grass-roots.

Giau said it was necessary to define specific and clear regulations such as land prices, mechanisms for updating land compensation prices and land revocation procedures.

Deputies also agreed plans on land usage and revocation should be publicised to ensure transparency and effective land management.

However, deputies suggested local authorities should hold more public dialogues, especially in cases where land owners were angry or concerned.

Tranh said the roles of agency leaders responsible for receiving and settling people's land-related denunciations should be clearly defined.

A co-ordination mechanism among relevant agencies and localities to boost effectiveness in solving land-related denunciations should be set up, he added.

Deputies agreed that punishment measures should be put forward for officers who are irresponsible or indifferent to solving people's denunciations.

Meanwhile, Deputy Thuy from Vinh Phuc Province said it was necessary to prepare assistance programs for people whose land had been revoked to ensure employment opportunities.

Cao Minh Quang, minister of Natural Resources and Environment said a nationwide database on land lots would soon be built up which would help to decrease the number of denunciations.

Knowledge and information on land-related regulations would be prepared for the public, he said.

VietNamNet/VNS