Cases where it is not mandatory to arrange
As Lao Dong reflected, after completing the arrangement of district and commune-level administrative units (ADUs) in the 2023-2025 period, the Ministry of Home Affairs recently said that it will continue to review and propose a merger plan for ADUs that do not meet the criteria for area and population according to Resolution No. 35/2023/UBTVQH15 (Resolution 35.5) of the National Assembly Standing Committee to proactively plan the arrangement of ADUs at district and commune levels in the 2026-2030 period.
Resolution 35 of the National Assembly Standing Committee also clearly stipulates the cases of districts and communes subject to arrangement in the period of 2026 - 2030.
Including district and commune-level administrative units with natural areas and population values below 100% of the administrative unit standards corresponding to those prescribed in the Resolution of the National Assembly Standing Committee on standards for administrative units and classification of administrative units.
However, Resolution 35 also stipulates cases where localities are not required to arrange administrative units in the period of 2023 - 2025 and the period of 2026 - 2030.
These cases include:
Firstly, district and commune-level administrative units subject to arrangement but having one of the following specific factors are not required to carry out arrangement: Having isolated locations and having difficulty organizing traffic to facilitate connections with adjacent administrative units; Having stable administrative unit boundaries and not having any changes or adjustments since 1945;
Having an important position in terms of national defense and security or having characteristics of historical traditions, culture, ethnicity, religion, belief, customs, and practices that, if arranged with other adjacent administrative units, will lead to instability in national defense, security, order, and social safety;
Rural administrative units subject to arrangement have been approved by competent authorities for development planning to become urban administrative units in the period of 2023 - 2030, with natural area and population size meeting the standards of urban administrative units.
Second, in the period of 2023 - 2025, it is not mandatory to carry out the arrangement of administrative units at district and commune levels that have been arranged in the period of 2019 - 2021.
Third, in the period of 2026 - 2030, it is not mandatory to carry out the arrangement of administrative units at district and commune levels that have been arranged in the period of 2019 - 2021 and the period of 2023 - 2025.
For the above 3 cases, if the locality finds it necessary to carry out the arrangement to reasonably organize administrative units at district and commune levels, the provincial People's Committee shall report to the overall plan and the local administrative unit arrangement project to submit to the competent authority for consideration.
Research similarities to merge
Sharing with Lao Dong reporter about the criteria for merging districts and communes, former Deputy Minister of Home Affairs Nguyen Tien Dinh commented that, first of all, it is necessary to take the criteria and standards for the population size and natural area of that district and commune based on current regulations.
The National Assembly Standing Committee has issued resolutions on the criteria for reviewing and arranging administrative units very carefully, namely Resolution 1221/2016 and Resolution 35/2023.
However, we also have to consider other factors such as cultural traditions, history, natural conditions, customs and practices.
In fact, in Report 8677/BC-BNV on the situation and results of implementing the arrangement of administrative units at district and commune levels in the period of 2023 - 2025, the Ministry of Home Affairs also mentioned some shortcomings and limitations in the arrangement of administrative units at district and commune levels in the past.
In particular, some cases of arranging rural administrative units into urban areas still have problems with planning, reviewing and evaluating urban criteria according to regulations, so they must be removed from the general project dossier of localities such as Lang Son, Yen Bai, Thai Nguyen, Binh Thuan, Binh Dinh provinces.
Some localities have not yet been determined in the implementation process, and have not submitted project documents on schedule as required and as planned. Some localities have developed a comprehensive plan but then left a large number of unreserved in the 2023 - 2025 period.
