On August 11, at the First Extraordinary Session, the National Assembly discussed in the hall about the draft Law on Urban Development.
After listening to the National Assembly deputies discuss, Member of the Party Central Committee, Minister of Justice Hoang Thanh Tung gave explanations and clarified the issues raised.
According to the Minister, the consistent viewpoint of the draft law is to shift from strict management thinking to development creation, implementing decentralization according to the motto "locality decides, locality does, locality takes responsibility". At the same time, decentralization is linked to the mechanism of controlling power and accountability.
Regarding the scope of adjustment, some delegates proposed to allow cities that have not been recognized as special urban areas to immediately apply superior mechanisms and policies without needing to pass the Government's decision.
Regarding this issue, the Minister of Justice said that assigning the Government to decide on application for each city is necessary to ensure that special mechanisms are implemented cautiously, in accordance with conditions and with control.
According to Minister Hoang Thanh Tung, first of all, it is necessary to ensure correspondence in management capacity and financial resources. Breakthrough policies require organizational implementation capacity and very large resources, so they cannot be applied widely but need to be assessed closely on the actual situation of each locality before delegating power.
Regarding power control, the Minister of Justice said that the draft is designed according to a thorough decentralization model associated with multi-level control, ensuring "there is a valve, there is a lock".
For slow-progressing projects, special policies are only applied when there are inspection conclusions, thereby preventing the legalization of violations or benefits arising from corruption and profiteering.
The Minister also emphasized the post-inspection mechanism associated with the accountability of the head, to control power in the implementation of the law.
At the discussion session, many opinions were raised that it is necessary to ensure national defense and security in the process of testing urban development models.
The Minister of Justice affirmed that this is the foundational and consistent principle of the draft law. The decentralization of power and the implementation of assigned tasks must ensure no harm to national defense, security, foreign affairs and national sovereignty.
Cities within the scope of regulation of the law are not allowed to issue other regulatory documents or pilot mechanisms and policies in the fields of defense, security, foreign affairs and religion.
The Prime Minister also has the authority to suspend or abolish local documents if he considers that the document affects national interests, national defense, and security.
The draft also designs a strict control mechanism for sensitive areas. For example, in planning and adjustment, contents related to special spaces, underground spaces, low floors, and high floors must be consulted and agreed upon in writing by the Ministry of National Defense and the Ministry of Public Security.
Minister Hoang Thanh Tung said that we must not trade defense and security for growth. All breakthrough mechanisms must be placed in a multi-layered control system, ensuring that national sovereignty, defense and security are maintained to the extent of economic development.
