"The landlord has a wide relationship, causing all kinds of pressure on district leaders and commune leaders"
As Lao Dong Newspaper has reflected in a series of previous articles, in Song Phuong commune (Hoai Duc district, Hanoi City), many factories are illegally built on agricultural land. To learn about how to build an "illegal" factory, the reporter approached a number of people who call themselves "land brokers" and all received a "common model" of having to "make the law" to spend a lot of money to the authorities! ?
Regarding the issue of illegally built factories on agricultural land, in an interview with Lao Dong Newspaper, Mr. Nguyen Duc Chien - Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Song Phuong Commune, Hoai Duc District, Hanoi City admitted that this situation exists.
He said that many times, the commune leaders have directed the Geopolitical Department to go to the area to check and handle violations. The viewpoint of the Song Phuong Commune Party Committee is to resolutely handle violations on agricultural land.
When the reporter asked about the "land brokers" accepting to "make the law" in a package so that customers can build factories on agricultural land without being touched by the authorities? Mr. Chien said that the People's Committee of Song Phuong commune does not "make laws" or "protect and assist" land brokers.
"I have just accepted the task of leading Song Phuong commune. Currently, we will handle any cases of building solid houses or factories on agricultural land" - Mr. Chien emphasized. He also said that in the commune, C.Y and his wife regularly work as agricultural land brokers and are under the monitoring of the government.
"According to the information we have, this couple owns a large stilt house built on agricultural land, which has existed for about 30 years.
In addition, they have another piece of agricultural land, which was illegally built last year, but the government has enforced the entire project. These subjects have a "wide network", affecting and putting all kinds of pressure on the People's Committee of Hoai Duc district, district leaders and Song Phuong commune leaders" - Mr. Chien said.
The leader of the People's Committee affirmed that if anyone is behind covering up the violation, that person will be responsible.
"On the commune government side, we will check, establish records and strictly handle violating works, especially those that have been reported by Lao Dong Newspaper," Mr. Chien emphasized.
According to Mr. Chien, many agricultural land plots in Song Phuong commune are in the planning of Ring Road 4. Therefore, the entire area will soon become urban land and will be reclaimed by the State to serve projects. It is very risky for investors to spend money to buy agricultural land in the expectation of "catching the wave". "The first risk is that the government will cut off all electricity and water for illegal construction works on agricultural land," Mr. Chien warned.
Consequences when agricultural land is "transformed" into illegal factories and houses
Talking to Lao Dong reporter, lawyer Truong Anh Tu - Chairman of TAT Law Firm said that after the 2024 Land Law took effect, many localities have witnessed a wave of large-scale agricultural land buying up. Many investors do not use land for production or cultivation, but for the purpose of building factories, houses, homestays, or waiting for prices to increase, taking advantage of land compensation policies to make a profit.
As a result, many areas of agricultural land are not used for the right purposes, causing serious waste and negativity. This not only affects agricultural output and food security, but also hinders real businesses and farmers from accessing land to develop production.
More worryingly, land gathering for planning or compensation has created long-term consequences for the social environment, unreasonably increasing land prices and pushing farmers out of the agricultural production market.
To prevent the use of agricultural land for unwnwn purposes, converting agricultural land into illegal factories and houses; or speculating and storing agricultural land for profit, Lawyer Truong Anh Tu said that the 2024 Land Law has set out many strict management measures.
First of all, the use of land after receiving the transfer of rights is bound by specific requirements, in which the land owner must put the land into production and cultivation. If this condition is not met, the land will be reclaimed.
Second, the authorities also step up inspection and supervision of land use, strictly handling cases of improper use or land abandonment. Along with that, the transparency of land use planning is also an important solution to limit the exploitation of planning information to manipulate land prices.
"If the land is not used for the right purpose, the State agency has the right to reclaim the land. More serious cases, such as planning violations or causing great damage to the State and society, may result in criminal prosecution. This is a necessary mechanism to protect land resources and ensure that the land accumulation policy is not abused" - lawyer Tu stated.
Hanoi has hundreds of illegal and unlicensed constructions
According to the Hanoi Department of Construction, from October 31, 2023 to October 30, 2024, districts, towns and the Urban Construction Order Management Team inspected 23,621 works, detected and recorded 415 violations.
Of which, 93 were built without a license, 180 were built without a license, with incorrect planning and design. Currently, 265 cases have been completely handled, the remaining 150 cases are being handled according to their authority.
The Department of Construction affirmed that there are still shortcomings in the management of construction order. Some localities have not strictly controlled, still allowing violations to arise, affecting security and order and socio-economic development. The synthesis and reporting of data by the district-level People's Committees and the Urban Construction Order Management Team is still not synchronous, causing difficulties in management.
The city emphasized the requirement to avoid new violations, promptly handle violations according to regulations, and not form "hot spots" for construction order.
At the same time, units must report the results of quarterly implementation to the City People's Committee to ensure effectiveness and efficiency in state management of this field.
