On the morning of December 10, the People's Committee of Thoi An Ward, District 12 (HCMC) responded to the article "Blatantly encroaching on rivers and canals to build restaurants in HCMC".
According to Thoi An Ward People's Committee, immediately after Lao Dong Newspaper published the article, the ward People's Committee leader directed the ward's functional forces to investigate.
The ward authorities noted that previously, a temporary hut had been installed on the alluvial land. Later, the owner of the restaurant rented the land and renovated the roof with corrugated iron and added stakes to prevent landslides.
The ward authorities also invited the landowner to work to determine which land was recorded in the land use right certificate, as well as which part was subject to compensation when cleared to build a road along the canal.
Thoi An Ward People's Committee has requested the restaurant owner to commit not to encroach on rivers and canals, and to only use the land within the boundaries that have been granted a land use right certificate; in case the state requires land to be reclaimed to build canals and roads, it must be handed over according to regulations. Currently, the ward authorities have requested the restaurant owner, who is the land lessee, to temporarily suspend business and fix the self-expansion according to regulations.
Previously, Lao Dong Newspaper published an article "Blatantly encroaching on rivers and canals to build restaurants in Ho Chi Minh City", reflecting that Bo Song Quan restaurant (Thoi An Ward, District 12) "grew" on the Vam Thuat River, showing signs of encroaching on rivers and canals.