Illegal sand exploitation in Hanoi impossible to control without necessary tools

The Hanoi People’s Council on December 8 conducted a Q&A session about state management over river-bed sand and gravel exploitation.

Nguyen Minh Duc from Thanh Xuan district raised a question to the Hanoi Police about the 13 illegal sand exploitation sites which have caused a loss of both natural resources and state budget collections.

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Duong Thi Hang from Gia Lam raised a question about illegal sand exploitation

Though municipal authorities are allowed to cooperate with neighboring localities to fight against illegal exploitation, problems still exist.

Duong Thi Hang from Gia Lam said that illegal sand exploitation in Xuan Dinh commune in Phuc Tho district is carried out in the open air. She asked the leaders of the district and commune to clarify their role and responsibility for this issue.

Hanoi’s Chair of People’s Council Nguyen Thi Bich Ngoc asked the chair of the commune Ho Quoc Khanh to speak about the concern raised by Hang.

Khanh said that illegal sand exploiters are still ‘operating’ in the commune. They turned the commune into a sand exploitation site in 2018, where they exploited sand both day and night.

After great efforts by local authorities, sand mass exploitation stopped in late 2019. But miners have returned, mostly exploiting sand at night.

“They exploit sand for 1-2 days, then temporarily stop the exploitation and come back later. The exploitation is conducted in the middle of the Red River. The police are not equipped with specialized tools to be able to prevent them completely,” he said.

“The commune is given the power to fight against illegal exploitation, but it is not given a reasonable mechanism. We don’t have necessary tools, so we can’t prevent them,” he said.

Khanh said the local authorities want a speedboat and a dedicated force which both the commune and district do not have.

“The commune chair was under pressure because of illegal sand exploitation in 2018 and 2019.

People bought drums, trumpets and lamps to scare away ships that sucked sand. Unable to chase them away, they went to the chairman's house to beat the drum and blow the trumpet there,” he said.

Chair of Xuan Dinh commune said it would be impossible to stop without necessary mechanisms.

Though municipal authorities are allowed to cooperate with neighboring localities to fight against illegal exploitation, problems still exist.

“Local people have lost confidence in the commune’s authorities,” he said, adding that there should be a police unit to stay in the commune to struggle with illegal sand exploiters.

Asked about the responsibility of district’s authorities, chair of Phuc Tho district Doan Trung Tuan admitted that illegal sand exploitation has been a burning issue over many years. Agencies discover tens of cases each year and have fined hundreds of million of dong.

However, the situation has not improved significantly.

“We have only one boat, and only one policeman has the license to drive the boat. Meanwhile, scammers exploit sand in the middle of river bed, so it is very difficult to catch them,” he explained.

In general, illegal exploiters anchor their boats in places in the neighboring province of Vinh Phuc and then come to Hanoi to exploit sand at night.

Tuan suggested putting sand exploitation rights up for auction and setting the minimum pries to help stop the loss in state budget collection and re-establish public order in the city.

In reply to Nguyen Minh Duc, Deputy Director of the Hanoi Police, and Nguyen Thanh Tung of the Hanoi Police had requested units at different levels to conduct investigations every year. Thirteen illegal sand exploitation points have so far been discovered.

As of November, 14 licenses for sand exploitation had been granted, including 11 licenses granted by the Hanoi People’s Committee. Eight organizations are allowed to exploit floating sand with valid licenses. There are 207 operational sand gathering yards.

Replying to proposals from local authorities on supplying boats, Tung said it is very difficult to do. When scammers are discovered exploiting sand in bordering areas, they leave for other places.

Exploiters mostly use ships with sucking pipes. In many cases, they sell sand right on the river. Most of the ships lack registration plates.

Huong Quynh