Public sale of soil
For over a week now, dozens of trucks loaded with soil have been running in all directions in Huong Phong Commune, Hue City. After following these trucks for many days, Lao Dong Newspaper reporters determined that the origin of the trucks of soil was from the irrigation project in Huong Phong Commune, Hue City.
According to research, every 5 years, this locality renovates the canals in the inner fields once. After the harvest season, the cooperative will dig the canals to prepare irrigation water for the next crop season. The source of funding for dredging the local canals is paid by the people themselves (in rice), called the irrigation fund.
Present at the irrigation area in Huong Phong commune, the reporter noticed that the construction unit's canal renovation had problems. Here, the canal sections were arranged with 2 excavators, one to dig out the topsoil to create a long trench, the other to scoop up the mud from the canal and stuff it into the trench.
It is worth mentioning that the above mentioned soil was sold everywhere. While the two excavators took turns scooping up the soil, nearly ten trucks were lining up behind them, waiting for their turn. As soon as one truck left, another truck immediately came in to take the soil. Just like that, after many days of operating at full capacity, the excavators and trucks of this unit took away countless cubic meters of soil to sell.
To clarify where this land was taken and what it was used for, the reporter followed these trucks. And the reporter was surprised to discover that the land was being taken by trucks everywhere to be sold. The land was dumped in people's gardens, some along the road, some to raise the ground for cemeteries. A resident said that they knew that land was being sold in the commune's canal area, so they bought 2 trucks of land, each for 500,000 VND.
What do local authorities say?
Realizing signs of taking advantage of the project for personal gain, the reporter had an interview with Mr. Nguyen Van Bon - Chairman of the People's Committee of Huong Phong commune.
According to Mr. Bon, the above project is implemented by Thuan Hoa Agricultural Cooperative. During the working process with the Commune People's Committee, Thuan Hoa Agricultural Cooperative made a report and asked for opinions that the canal banks are dredged up too much every year, now take a little to scoop up mud from the canal to rebuild the banks, otherwise the mud will overflow into the members' fields. Before implementing the project, the Hue City Economic Department was reported. The total length of the dredged canals and ditches is more than 2.8km, the total volume is 3,575m3.
Mr. Bon admitted that the People's Committee of Huong Phong commune had directed monitoring and requested that soil be scooped up and dumped in public places such as schools, medical stations, police headquarters, etc. However, after monitoring, it was found that the construction unit dumped less here and more outside. After that, the People's Committee of the commune invited this cooperative to work and requested that the above situation of transporting soil be stopped.
“Recently, Thuan Hoa Agricultural Cooperative (Huong Phong Commune) submitted a request to dredge the banks to serve the irrigation work of the 2024-2025 winter-spring crop. During the working process with the Commune People's Committee, it was agreed that the dredging of soil on the banks must not be transported elsewhere. Later, some trucks carrying soil were discovered to be entering people's houses, so the Commune People's Committee invited this cooperative to work and requested to stop the transportation of soil in the area. At the same time, the Commune People's Committee directed the Vice Chairman and the land officer to monitor. If violations continue, the Commune People's Committee will make a record and handle them according to the law," said Mr. Bon.
