Of Nghe An’s 124 sand exploitation locations, 101 are unlicensed.

Illegal sand exploitation in Nghe An

88 of the unlicensed sand exploitation locations are on Lam River, from Vinh City to Hung Nguyen, Nam Dan, Thanh Chuong and Do Luong districts. The police and local authorities have tried to close these locations but they are reopened after a while.

Illegal sand exploitation has caused erosion and destroyed farmers' crops as well as causing damage to the embankment.

According to Le Thanh Binh from Nghe An Department of Transport, district and communal authorities management and must take responsibility for the illegal sand exploitation locations.

Nguyen Sy Hung, deputy director of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment, also said he had received many complaints about erosion. He suggested setting up an inter-department unit to deal with the problem and emphasised that district and communal authorities must take responsibility.

Nghe An People's Council recently issued a document that asked local authorities to tighten management over mines and sand exploitation. Permits should be auctioned and inspections should be tightened, with violators strictly dealt with.

Vietnamnet/Dtinews