The hills were ragged and butchered.
Illegal land exploitation is quite common in Hong Ky, Bac Son, Nam Son, and Bac Phu communes (Soc Son district, Hanoi city).
According to the reporter of Lao Dong Newspaper, in the Na mountain area, located between the border of Hong Ky and Nam Son communes, Soc Son district, Hanoi, right at the foot of the hill, large-capacity excavators continuously dig up new layers of soil, creating a messy scene. Many trucks lined up, waiting to transport the soil away. This entire area was no different from a large construction site.
Mr. Nguyen Oanh (name has been changed) said that recently, every day, in the Na mountain area, dozens of trucks race in and out to collect soil, then take it to other places for consumption. This situation not only causes environmental pollution, affects security and order, but also causes serious loss of resources. This situation also occurs in some other areas such as Chua Tien mountain (Nam Son commune, Hanoi).
According to Lao Dong Newspaper, wherever there is a car path from the concrete road leading to the dirt road, illegal land exploitation often occurs. Observing the reality, the reporter saw that a part of Chua Tien mountain area had been flattened, with clear traces of illegal land exploitation.
"Tien Pagoda Mountain is located in the Nam Son Waste Treatment Complex, which was planned to be planted with trees after the people resettled. However, before the trees could be planted, this area was illegally exploited, causing the landscape to be deformed and the green forest to gradually disappear," said Mr. Ngoc (Nam Son commune).
Through Lao Dong's investigation, large trucks scooped up soil from the Na Mountain and Chua Tien Mountain areas, then transported them to Phu Minh Commune, Soc Son District, and dumped them into the gardens of some residents. Through many sources, we were provided with the phone numbers of the owners of these trucks. This person is believed to be behind many illegal soil mining and transportation activities in Soc Son District.
When contacted by phone, the car owner confirmed that they always have a large amount of land available for sale, but were cautious and did not want to meet strangers in person.
"Did you dump a lot? My soil is a lot, about 950,000 VND for a large truck, about 450,000 VND/truck for a small truck. If you dump a lot, I will call you around 6am the next morning, if I don't call you, you can't call me back," said the owner of the truck carrying the illegal soil.
Treat like "kidnapping and abandoning the disk"
Speaking to Lao Dong Newspaper, Mr. Hoang Van Chung - Chairman of Nam Son Commune People's Committee confirmed that there was illegal land exploitation in the commune. According to Mr. Chung, after Lao Dong Newspaper's reflection, Nam Son Commune People's Committee assigned functional units to inspect, handle and temporarily detain a number of trucks transporting illegal land.
"The locations of land exploitation and illegal land excavation are mainly far from residential areas in the resettlement project clearance area. When the commune police force discovered and arrived at the location, the subjects had already typed and moved the car to another location. To ensure State management of land, prevent illegal land exploitation, and strictly handle violations, we have a document requesting the People's Committee of Soc Son district, Soc Son district police, and Soc Son district Department of Natural Resources and Environment to direct and support forces to prevent and prepare documents to handle illegal land exploitation and transportation in the commune, in order to end the situation of illegal exploitation of resources in the area," said Mr. Chung.
After collecting enough documents, information and images, the reporter contacted Mr. Le Thanh Nam - Director of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of Hanoi City, confirming that he would send officials to inspect and verify, and when the results were available, he would inform Lao Dong Newspaper.
Talking about the situation of illegal land exploitation, in an interview with Lao Dong, Dr. Tran Van Mieu - Head of the Communications Department of the Vietnam Association for Conservation of Nature and Environment affirmed that in order for "land bandits" to run rampant for a long time, first of all, we must talk about the responsibility of the locality, specifically the Chairman of the People's Committee of Hong Ky commune, Nam Son commune, Soc Son district.
The Chairman of the District People's Committee is responsible to the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee if illegal mineral activities occur in the area and are not handled promptly, becoming hot spots, gathering crowds, causing public outrage, and affecting security and order in the locality.
The Director of the Hanoi Department of Natural Resources and Environment is responsible to the Chairman of the Hanoi People's Committee if there is any situation of mineral exploitation at mines that is not in accordance with the license content, violating the provisions of the law on minerals and environmental protection.
"Illegal land exploitation not only causes loss of resources and budget but also deforms terrain, increases the risk of landslides and flash floods, creates inequality in business and tax losses" - Dr. Tran Van Mieu said.
