Recovering is not easy!
The case originated in 2015, when the component project of land acquisition and resettlement of the National Highway 1 expansion project through Binh Dinh was completed. The investor is the Traffic Project Management Board of Binh Dinh province, coordinating with the People's Committees of localities such as An Nhon, Tuy Phuoc, Phu My, Phu Cat, Hoai Nhon to implement compensation work.
After the project was completed, the authorities discovered errors in the settlement process, the total amount of incorrect payments amounted to more than 57 billion VND. Of which, Binh Dinh province has recovered more than 51 billion VND, but there is still more than 5.3 billion VND that cannot be recovered from the people of Phu My district.
In 2018, Phu My district issued 172 decisions to recover more than 5.3 billion VND for incorrect compensation for land acquisition, but so far it has not collected "no VND". Of which, My Chau commune has 130 households, the amount to be recovered is more than 3.3 billion VND; Binh Duong town has 18 cases with an amount of more than 1.4 billion VND; Phu My town has 34 households with an amount of more than 471 million VND; My Phong commune has 2 cases with an amount of more than 64 million VND.
Mr. Phan Huu Duy - Permanent Vice Chairman of Phu My District People's Committee - admitted that there is a deadlock in recovering the amount of money that has been spent incorrectly. "The district has implemented countless options, from mobilization to appeal, but the people are determined not to return the money. Once the money is in the hands of the people, it will not be easy to get it back, especially the compensation," said Mr. Duy.
Handling officials or continuing to collect?
Not only facing difficulties in recovery, the local government of Phu My district also faces a difficult problem of "recovering money spent incorrectly or handling officials? ".
"Now criminal proceedings against officials are not easy, affecting their entire lives. If we deduct 50% of our salary, how can we get used to living, and if we deduct that, how many years will it last, because the salary is not much" - Mr. Duy shared.
According to the Standing Vice Chairman of Phu My District People's Committee, the province's viewpoint is to recover the amount of money spent incorrectly, the district has implemented it resolutely but cannot recover it, because the people refuse to pay. "If the province directs that it must be handled, then let there be a specific policy, either the cadres must pay the wrong payment, or the cadres will be handled, on that basis, the District People's Committee will report and ask for the opinion of the District Party Committee Standing Committee to handle, because in the project's site clearance council, there are cases of leaders from the previous period," Mr. Duy proposed.
The incident involved more than 15 officials, including retired and current leaders. If we assign responsibility, we must determine each time and each individual is responsible, and this is not simple.
In this context, Phu My district is still waiting for instructions from Binh Dinh province on how to handle it. The two options are, either the staff must return the amount of money that was spent incorrectly, or the staff must be held accountable. However, any choice is full of difficulties.
The recovery of more than 5.3 billion VND spent incorrectly in site clearance for the National Highway 1 expansion project in Phu My district (Binh Dinh) has lasted for more than 7 years without being resolved. In the near future, when implementing phase 2 of the arrangement of the administrative apparatus, expected to merge provinces and not organize at the district level, if this amount has not been recovered, the new administrative unit will have to receive and handle it. This not only prolongs the settlement time but also creates more burden for the new apparatus.
If you do not voluntarily submit, use strong measures
The leader of Binh Dinh Provincial People's Committee affirmed that compensation for violations of regulations must be recovered and paid to the State budget. People cannot state that they have spent all their money to refuse to return it, because this is not illegal. If households have assets and income but do not voluntarily pay, strong measures need to be applied to ensure social justice.
