Struggling to find a way to deal with stone thieves
According to the reporter's records, the Hon Cha mountain area has now become a mess as the forest has gradually disappeared, replaced by scattered rocks, lying exposed in the open air, causing everyone who witnesses to shake their heads in dismay.
Besides the location where the reporter discovered illegal stone mining, licensed stone mining activities of 2 enterprises also took place massively, unintentionally becoming a "shield" for stone thieves to fool local people.
Local people said that during the day, the hill located between the stone mining area of 2 enterprises looked quiet, not a single person, only a small, shabby camp and piles of finished stone products, lying along the path up and down the mountain.However, strangely, after only 1 night, "the rocks were gone, the mountain was worn away".
Working with Lao Dong, Mr. Dang Thanh Ho - Chairman of the People's Committee of Tran Quang Dieu Ward confirmed that there was a situation of "stone bandits" illegally mining stone on Hon Cha Mountain and at the same time admitted the locality's inability to handle "stone bandits", despite having sent people to the mountain to inspect many times.
“The subjects illegally mined stone outside of business hours, on holidays and had guards. When the local authorities deployed forces to inspect, the subjects quickly withdrew from the mining area. They were not caught red-handed, so they could not be prosecuted. According to the Law on Environmental Protection, the subjects must be caught red-handed and have images proving their violations, in order to recover the evidence, make a record for handling, and the person who makes the record must be the Ward Chairman or an official of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment," said Mr. Ho.
According to Mr. Ho, the stone bandits secretly brought mechanical vehicles up to Hon Cha mountain to serve illegal stone mining activities, mainly stone block mining. When the ward forces arrived, the subjects turned off the machines and stopped mining. The local authorities searched many times, hired people to lift and bring the mechanical equipment down the mountain, but no one dared to do it, partly because of the difficult terrain, partly because of fear of revenge from the "stone bandits".
"The locality has requested Quy Nhon City to take action. The city has established a working group to combat stone mining on Hon Cha Mountain. Therefore, when illegal stone mining is discovered, the locality will report it and the city will send forces to coordinate with the ward to handle it, because the ward alone cannot do anything - PV) - Mr. Ho said.
Management responsibility of Tran Quang Dieu ward
Through the images provided by the reporter, Mr. Nguyen Khac Minh - Deputy Head of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of Quy Nhon City - confirmed that the stone mining location on Hon Cha mountain that the reporter reported was an illegal activity, outside the mining area of the two licensed enterprises, under the management and handling responsibility of Tran Quang Dieu ward.
"The city has assigned the ward to manage and handle the case, and how to handle it, whether happy or miserable, is up to the ward," said Mr. Minh, adding that the fact that the illegal stone miners had guards and escaped before the ward deployed forces to inspect has caused difficulties in handling the case, but not only because of that, the locality is powerless in management. In cases where the subjects use means to mine stone blocks, the ward must be responsible for reporting to the city, then the city's Working Group will coordinate with the ward to handle the case, but the main force is still the ward's" - said Mr. Minh.
Mr. Minh affirmed that he will coordinate with Tran Quang Dieu ward to organize an inspection of the illegal stone mining area that Lao Dong Newspaper reported and discuss how to handle it.
"In terms of state management, we cannot complain about difficulties or hardships. Everything must be done. Whether we are determined to handle it or not depends on the ward. What is important is how we do it, whether it is effective or not," said Mr. Minh.
Regarding the above issue, Mr. Tran Dinh Chuong - Deputy Director of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of Binh Dinh province - said that the province has developed a plan to protect exploited and unexploited mineral sites. As for Hon Cha mountain, the province has assigned Quy Nhon city to manage it. When illegal stone mining occurs, the chairman of the ward, commune, or town must be the first person responsible for State management, and the department will make a document requesting Quy Nhon city to intervene and handle the issue after receiving feedback.
