Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has just signed and issued Directive No. 20/CT-TTg dated July 12, 2025 on a number of urgent tasks, resolutely preventing and combating environmental pollution.
In the directive, the Prime Minister requested ministries, ministerial-level agencies, government agencies, and local People's Committees to focus on inspecting, examining, and strictly handling violations by organizations and individuals according to their authority; strengthen propaganda on policies and laws on environmental protection in performing tasks in the management field.
The Government Inspectorate has a thematic inspection plan on the implementation of state management of environmental protection in areas with serious environmental pollution, projects using budget capital to invest in environmental protection with signs of violations, delays, waste, and inefficiency.
Thereby, it is recommended that competent authorities consider and handle the responsibility of heads of units and localities who are irresponsible in leading, directing, inspecting, supervising, or not fully performing their duties and tasks to cause serious environmental pollution in the management area.
The Prime Minister requested that if signs of criminal law violations are detected, the Ministry of Public Security be transferred for investigation and handling according to the provisions of law.
These tasks are required by the Prime Minister to be implemented from the third quarter of 2025.
The Government leaders also requested the People's Committees of provinces and centrally run cities to increase the responsibility of authorities at all levels, especially the leaders in directing the implementation of policies, laws on environmental protection, including in the content of periodic assessment and review of the work of directing, operating, classifying cadres, and evaluating emulation.
Reviewing and considering the responsibility of leaders for serious and urgent environmental pollution among the people, affecting security and order due to lack of leadership, direction, inspection, supervision or failure to fully implement responsibilities within the scope of management.
Direct timely inspection and examination of subjects showing signs of violating environmental laws, especially subjects at high risk of polluting the soil, air, water resources, agencies, units, and enterprises operating in the management and treatment of waste, wastewater, and emissions; strictly handle violations.
The Prime Minister requested the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuracy to guide the application of the law in measuring, counting, calculating qualitative factors, determining the consequences and damages caused by criminal acts as a basis for determining crimes and penalties in investigation, prosecution, and trial of environmental cases.
Closely coordinate with the investigation agency in investigating, prosecuting, and trying environmental cases.
