The Ministry of Agriculture and Environment received petitions from voters in some provinces/cities across the country sent by the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front regarding the situation of environmental pollution and waste treatment in major cities, urban areas, industrial parks, and residential areas that still occurs.
Voters and people hope that the Government and competent authorities will have better solutions to handle and overcome the situation in the coming time.
Regarding this issue, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Environment Le Cong Thanh said that in recent times, the Government and the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment have focused on directing strongly, implementing simultaneous measures to reduce and overcome environmental pollution from perfecting legal policies, inspection, examination, and strengthening supervision activities in the field of environmental protection;
Strong changes in management methods, shifting from passive to proactive prevention, approaching development models that have little impact on the environment, harmonizing environmental issues with socio-economic issues;
In addition, strengthen propaganda and education on environmental protection; create changes and raise awareness and sense of compliance with environmental protection laws.
Legal regulations on environmental protection require strict control of types with high risks of causing environmental pollution and to strengthen sanctions for administrative violations.
In 2022, the Government issued Decree No. 45 on administrative sanctions in the field of environmental protection, which stipulates a very high penalty for intentional violations that cause negative consequences for the environment.
According to Deputy Minister Le Cong Thanh, the Ministry is currently developing and submitting to the Government for promulgation a Decree amending and supplementing a number of articles of Decree No. 45 on administrative sanctions in the field of environmental protection.
The draft Decree has adjusted the penalty level to suit reality, especially continuing to increase the penalty level for acts of deliberately discharging untreated waste into the environment; increasing the sanctioning authority for a number of law enforcement forces on environmental protection.
The Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Environment added that the Law on Environmental Protection 2020 stipulates that the People's Committees at the commune level are responsible for collecting and transporting domestic solid waste as follows.
Checking compliance with legal regulations on environmental protection in the collection and transportation of domestic solid waste;
Handling violations of the law on management of domestic solid waste according to authority; reviewing and resolving recommendations and reflections of organizations, communities, households and individuals related to the collection and transportation of domestic solid waste;
Preside over and coordinate with domestic solid waste collection and transportation facilities, communities, and socio-political organizations at the grassroots level to determine the time, location, frequency and collection route for domestic solid waste;
Guiding households and individuals to transfer domestic solid waste to collection and transportation facilities or to collection points in accordance with regulations; guiding the community to monitor and publicize cases of non-compliance with regulations on classification and collection of domestic solid waste.
In the coming time, the Ministry will review and strengthen inspections of establishments, urban areas, industrial parks, and residential areas at high risk of causing environmental pollution. This is to strictly control and prevent environmental pollution from arising" - Deputy Minister Le Cong Thanh emphasized.
