VietNamNet Bridge – Over 42,000 applications for land-use certificates in Ha Noi were waiting to be processed, according to the Department of Natural Resources and Environment.

People apply for land-use certificates in Lang Thuong Ward, Dong Da District, Ha Noi, where verifying legitimate claims to land is time-consuming because not every household has the necessary paperwork. (Photo: VNS)

"Land-related issues in Ha Noi are very complex because of the number of different policies we've had regarding the matter in the past. They have resulted in numerous cases of illegal land encroachment, illegally constructed buildings and land-use disputes," he said.

Verifying legitimate claims to land was a very time-consuming process because not every household had the necessary paperwork, Khanh said.

He said the second problem was a lack of responsibility among some workers, who were happy to bury complicated cases, rather than trying to get to the bottom of them.

The problem is particularly bad in Thanh Xuan District.

Deputy Chairman of the district's People's Committee Dang Hong Thai said there were more than 8,600 applications waiting to be processed, each with its own unique circumstances.

"There is one case where the land is located on the route of a new road, while another case involves land actually inside a delayed project. In addition, there are cases where land owners have already switched land-use purposes without seeking approval from local authorities," he elaborated.

Thai admitted the process was too slow for the frustrated land owners, particularly at commune level.

He said that officers at the commune level believed that their responsibilities ended as soon as they transferred the applications to the district. In many difficult cases, when the district returned the applications to the commune, the common reaction was to take no further action.

Khanh said the municipal People's Committee had asked for inspections to be carried out to find out what was going on.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News