On March 7, the Office of Lam Dong Provincial People's Committee issued a notice of the conclusion of Mr. Tran Hong Thai, Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee, on a comprehensive inspection of dredging and mineral exploitation activities at Dong Nai 3 hydropower reservoir, in Dinh Trang Thuong commune, Di Linh district.
According to the announcement, the Chairman of Lam Dong Provincial People's Committee assigned the Provincial Inspectorate to coordinate with relevant departments and branches to establish an inspection team.
The team will conduct a comprehensive inspection of the dredging, mineral harvesting and land use management process in the Dong Nai 3 hydroelectric reservoir area.
This dredging activity has been licensed by the Ministry of Industry and Trade, and the People's Committee of Di Linh district has completed documents and procedures to organize an auction with a starting price of 11,322.77m3 of sand, equivalent to more than 3.1 billion VND.
However, in response to information about the situation of sand and gravel dredging and the transportation and sale of State assets in violation of regulations, the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee requested the Provincial Inspectorate to preside over the inspection and strictly handle violations (if any) according to the provisions of law.
The inspection team will report the results to the Provincial People's Committee before March 30.
The Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee also assigned the Department of Industry and Trade to coordinate with the People's Committees of relevant districts and cities to review the legal status of operating licenses within the scope of protection of irrigation and hydropower works in the province.
The results report will be sent to the Provincial People's Committee in April.
Currently, Lam Dong province has 19 valid licenses for dredging and collecting sand and gravel minerals. However, after the Provincial People's Committee issued Document 2096 on March 23, 2023, all dredging and mineral exploitation activities in irrigation lakes and hydropower plants had to be temporarily suspended.
This leads to the situation where hundreds of thousands of blocks of exploited sand have to lie ashore waiting for auction, causing waste of State assets.
People and businesses in Lam Dong are currently having to buy sand from neighboring provinces to serve construction. Up to now, some districts such as Lac Duong, Di Linh, Duc Trong have completed the documents and have been approved by the Provincial People's Committee for starting prices to conduct the auction.
The two districts of Don Duong and Bao Lam have also completed the dossier to submit to the Department of Finance for appraisal of the starting price and auction plan.
A comprehensive inspection of mineral dredging and harvesting activities at Dong Nai 3 hydroelectric reservoir is necessary to ensure compliance with the law, protect natural resources and state assets.
The authorities will continue to monitor and strictly handle violations to ensure sustainable development for the area.
