Too many wells give HCM City sinking feeling

Nguyen Huu Canh Street in Binh Thanh District suffers from heavy flooding due to tidal surges. Bigger tides, along with land sinkages blamed on the falling water table, are expected to cause more severe flooding in the city. —VNA/VNS Photo Hoang Hai

HCM CITY — HCMC is considering plans to improve the management of private artesian water bores as overexploitation of underground water sources is causing land to sink in many of the city's districts.

The land sinkage has been blamed on falling artesian water levels and land that is too unstable for the current rate of development.

"The overexploitation of underground water has been a large cause of land sinkage," Le Van Trung, director of the Geomatics Centre of the National University- HCM City, said.

Land in parts of districts 1, 4, 7, 8, 9, Binh Thanh, Thu Duc, Binh Chanh and Hoc Mon has sunk 10-15mm a year. The sinkage levels are expected to get much worse in District 9, Binh Chanh, Thu Duc, Hoc Mon and Binh Thanh districts by 2020.

Trung told a meeting of the HCM City People's Committee earlier this week that there were three main causes for the problem – unstable land, the construction of projects on unstable land, and the decline of underground water levels.

The combination of higher rainfall levels, bigger tides and land sinkage was a recipe for more severe flooding in future, Trung said.

The flooding of 79 out of the 116 roads had been exascerbated by lowering land levels, he said.

Deputy chairman of the HCM City People's Committee Nguyen Thanh Tai said the management of artesian water sources in the city was too lax and needed tightening.

Tai ordered the Department of Natural Resources and Environment to do an area-by-area assessment of the use of artesian water and organise a seminar on the impacts of water bores on land stability.

The People's Committee would use the data to map out areas where water bores and construction would be restricted.

The city would also increase inspections of artesian water bores and penalise anyone illegally exploiting underground water resources, Tai said.

The department has set a cap of 832,000cu.m a day of pumped bore water. Records show that 582,000cu.m a day was pumped in 2008.

Nguyen Ngoc Hong, deputy director of the department, said the real volume of underground water that was being pumped could be a third as much again.

In several industrial parks which have tap water, many companies illegally exploit underground water for production, especially companies that use a lot of water like leather tanners and textile and dye companies, according to the HCM City Export Processing and Industrial Zones Authority. — VNS

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Hanoi meets land auction goals

Hanoi was well on track to fulfilling its target of land use right auction income for 2010 although some problems still remained unresolved, said a high-ranking city official.

Nguyen Trong Dong, Deputy Director of Hanoi's Department of Natural Resources and Environment said so far, 18 units had conducted auctions for 11.7ha of land, raking in 2.5 trillion VND (125 million USD), accounting for 97 percent of the city's planned budget income.

In December, the city will conduct more auctions in an attempt to earn 80 billion VND (4 million USD) more to fulfil the plan for the year. Land in Thon Bon village, Ngo Thi Nham area, Dong Dung area in Ha Dong district and Trau Quy commune in Gia Lam district will be up for auction and is expected to bring in 370 billion VND (18.5 million USD) for the city.

Dong said, however, there were still many problems which needed to be addressed.

Among them were the slow pace of land clearance and infrastructure construction, and the lengthy task of preparing necessary documents.

In a recent meeting between city leaders and district officials on this issue, many officials at district level said they were unsure about how to implement Decree 17/2010/ND-CP on land auctions as the Government had not issued guidelines.

Under the decree, local authorities need to invite auctioneers from the city to attend the auctions in a supervisory role. But many district officials said this was both unnecessary and ineffective.

Tran Duc Nguyen, deputy chairman of Thach That district People's Committee said his district were unable to hold auctions due to this stipulation.

The district officials also pointed to bid rigging as a major problem.

Many land rights owners deliberately made high bids for adjoining land to increase the value of their own, but then refused to pay after the auction finished, said local officials.

An official of Quoc Oai district suggested that the city should raise the deposit for land auctions in order to tackle this problem.

Vu Hong Khanh, deputy chairman of the city People's Committee said city authorities would hold discussions with other related ministries to work out feasible solutions to the remaining problems.

Khanh said that auction winners who failed to pay would have their land use rights revoked within 30 days.

He added auction boards and relevant authorities should closely cooperate to organise sales and strictly punish any violations./.

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Ha Noi meets land auction goals

Land sits idle for years in the capital city's Tu Liem District, but the city is on track to fulfilling its tartget for income this year from auctions of land use rights. — VNA/VNS Photo Hoang Lam

HA NOI — Ha Noi was well on track to fulfilling its target of land use right auction income for 2010 although some problems still remained unresolved, said a high-ranking city official.

Nguyen Trong Dong, Deputy Director of Ha Noi's Department of Natural Resources and Environment said so far, 18 units had conducted auctions for 11.7ha of land, raking in VND2.5 trillion (US$125 million), accounting for 97 per cent of the city's planned budget income.

In December, the city will conduct more auctions in an attempt to earn VND80 billion ($4 million) more to fulfil the plan for the year. Land in Thon Bon Village, Ngo Thi Nham area, Dong Dung area in Ha Dong District and Trau Quy commune in Gia Lam district will be up for auction and is expected to bring in VND370 billion ($18.5 million) for the city.

Dong said, however, there were still many problems which needed to be addressed.

Among them were the slow pace of land clearance and infrastructure construction, and the lengthy task of preparing necessary documents.

In a recent meeting between city leaders and district officials on this issue, many officials at district level said they were unsure about how to implement Decree 17/2010/ND-CP on land auctions as the Government had not issued guidelines.

Under the decree, local authorities need to invite auctioneers from the city to attend the auctions in a supervisory role. But many district officials said this was both unnecessary and ineffective.

Tran Duc Nguyen, deputy chairman of Thach That District People's Committee said his district were unable to hold auctions due to this stipulation.

The district officials also pointed to bid rigging as a major problem.

Many land rights owners deliberately made high bids for adjoining land to increase the value of their own, but then refused to pay after the auction finished, said local officials.

An official of Quoc Oai District suggested that the city should raise the deposit for land auctions in order to tackle this problem.

Vu Hong Khanh, deputy chairman of the city People's Committee said city authorities would hold discussions with other related ministries to work out feasible solutions to the remaining problems.

Khanh said that auction winners who failed to pay would have their land use rights revoked within 30 days.

He added auction boards and relevant authorities should closely co-operate to organise sales and strictly punish any violations. — VNS

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Hanoi to fulfil 2010 land use right auction plan

HANOI - Hanoi was well on track to fulfilling its target of land use right auction income for 2010 although some problems still remained unresolved, said a high-ranking city official.

Nguyen Trong Dong, Deputy Director of Hanoi's Department of Natural Resources and Environment said so far, 18 districts had conducted auctions for 11.7ha of land, raking in VND 2.5 trillion, accounting for 97 per cent of the city's planned budget income.

In December, the city will conduct more auctions to earn VND 80 billion more to fulfil the plan for the year. Land in Thon Bon, Ngo Thi Nham, Dong Dung in Ha Dong district and Trau Quy in Gia Lam district will be up for auction and is expected to bring in VND 370 billion for the city.

Dong said, however, there were still many problems which needed to be addressed.

Among them were the slow pace of land clearance and infrastructure construction, and the lengthy task of preparing necessary documents.

In a recent meeting between city leaders and district officials on this issue, many officials at district level said they were unsure about how to implement the new government decision on land auctions as it had not issued guideline documents.

According to Decree 17/2010/ND-CP on property auctions released in March, local authorities need to invite auctioneers from the city to attend the auctions in a supervisory role. But many district officials said this was both unnecessary and ineffective.

Tran Duc Nguyen, deputy head of Thach That district's People's Committee said his district were unable to hold auctions due to this stipulation.

The district officials also pointed to bid rigging as a major problem.

Many land rights owners deliberately made high bids for adjoining land to increase the value of their own, but then refused to pay after the auction finished, said local officials.

An official of Quoc Oai district suggested that the city should raise the deposit for land auctions in order to tackle this problem.

Vu Hong Khanh, deputy head of the city's People's Committee said city authorities would hold discussions with other related ministries to work out feasible solutions to the remaining problems. VNS

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Transparency key to fighting corruption

People commute over Cha Va Bridge in HCM City. The bridge is part of the East-West Boulevard project which was involved in a corruption scandal. Several city officials were charged for receiving bribes in 2008. — VNA/VNS Photo Thanh Phan

HA NOI — The Vietnamese Government has gone a long way to addressing corruption but there is still lots to do in terms of transparency, accountability and people involvement, an anti-corruption dialogue heard yesterday.

The eighth semi-annual dialogue, which was co-organised by the Government Inspectorate (GI), the Office of the Steering Committee on Anti-Corruption (OSCAC), the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE) and the Swedish Embassy, discussed land-related corruption.

Viet Nam has taken great strides in terms of legal framework, preventive measures, administrative reform, inspections and prosecutions among others, according to a report presented by OSCAC at the dialogue.

Under the framework, corruption whistle-blowers and denunciators can now be rewarded and protected, while a draft inter-ministerial circular allowing corruption investigations and prosecution processes to be publicised is being developed.

Several ministries and many provinces, including Kien Giang, Ninh Thuan, Binh Thuan, Da Nang and HCM City, have posted legal information and procedures on their websites in an effort to promote transparency.

For its part, the Ministry of Education and Training has developed an anti-corruption action plan which requires all educational entities to implement the national anti-corruption strategy until 2020.

Swedish ambassador Staffan Herrstrom hailed the country's implementation of the United Nations' Convention on Anti-Corruption, its new Anti-Corruption Law and Strategy towards 2020 and the involvement of grass-root levels in the fight against corruption.

"Viet Nam has kept corruption high on the agenda by joining the international commitments," he said.

Land corruption

Regarding corruption in land use and administration, MONRE's deputy chief inspector Le Van Dat noted that most land-related corruption took place before the Law on Land came into effect seven years ago.

He said the ministry was working with relevant ministries to make amendments to the Law which will be submitted to the National Assembly in two years time in order to fix any loopholes.

Le The Chien from the GI noted that more than 90 per cent of disputes, complaints and denunciations were land-related.

He said that corruption in land administration usually occurred at commune level around major cities where land was illegally allocated to urban and industrial zones.

However, the issuance of land-use right certificates (LURC) was identified as the main factor behind bribery.

The Swedish ambassador noted from a recent study that 86 per cent of Vietnamese households think corruption occurs in land cases and more than 30 per cent of enterprises were willing to pay informal fees in LURC applications.

Dr Nguyen Quoc Hiep of the GI's Research Institute attributed the social acceptance of corruption to complicated laws and procedures, limited access to information and low ethics and responsibility among public officers.

Making it easier

As a result, he recom-mended legalising inter-mediary services, further simplifying the law and developing easy-to-understand procedural guidelines that could be posted online while developing an effective public complaints system.

A member of the National Assembly's Legal Committee, Nguyen Binh Quyen, described the corruption situation in the country as more serious and subtle despite legal and punitive improvements.

"People are ready to offer bribes when it comes to dealing with public servants regarding their benefits," he said, "And many officials are accustomed to accepting bribes."

Pham Chi Lan, a former economic consultant to the government, pointed to the poor capacity of law-enforcing staff as the biggest hurdle in the anti-corruption fight.

"We have a myriad of laws and regulations regarding corruption, but they are poorly implemented," she complained, "The oversight mechanism is weak, too."

She said the grass-roots population should be strongly involved in the fight against corruption, given that most of cases were brought to light by ordinary people.

Measures should be taken to raise awareness about information transparency, remarked James H. Anderson, a World Bank senior governance specialist.

Fiona Lappin, head of the UK Department for International Development in Viet Nam, recommended that public servants should receive a fair salary so that they would not be interested in taking bribes.

Tran Van Truyen, head of the GI, said it would develop appropriate measures based on all recommendations at the dialogues and submit them to the Government for approval.— VNS

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Proper land management needs greater efforts

Vietnam needs to speed up administrative reforms, improve transparency and access to information as well as mechanisms of accountability so as to prevent corruption in land administration and use.

This is a common recommendation put forward by international delegates at the 8 th Dialogue on Anti-Corruption with the theme, “Anti-corruption in land administration and use” held in Hanoi on November 25.

The Dialogue on Anti-Corruption is organized twice a year by the Embassy of Sweden on behalf of Vietnam ’s development partners, the Government Inspectorate and the Office of the Central Steering Committee for Anti-Corruption on behalf of the Vietnamese Government.

The 8 th dialogue saw the attendance of representatives from Vietnam ’s development partners and donors such as the UN, the World Bank (WB), the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the UK Department for International Development (DFID), the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Embassies of Sweden, Switzerland , Denmark , New Zealand and Australia .

Sharing the expressed view, Swedish Ambassador to Vietnam Staffan Herrstrom said: “We know that transparency is a fundamental and effective tool and we know that if you combine that with giving people possibilities to claim accountability very much is achieved already”.

He cited the results of a survey conducted recently by development partners, saying that more than 86 percent of the surveyed households said there is corruption in land administration and use and 33 percent of the targeted businesses said they had to give bribes in order to get certificates of land use.

According to the ambassador, law enforcement and oversight systems are still weak in Vietnam , while procedures of land use right registration are cumbersome, over-bureaucratized and only one percent of people lodging complaints are satisfied in the end. This creates an environment in which corruption can flourish, undermines the credibility of officials and decreases trust among the public at large.

Meanwhile, a representative of the Swiss Embassy emphasized the importance of the promulgation of a law on the protection of whistleblowers and enhancement of the role of mass media in discovering and reporting negative phenomena in land management and use, especially small cases in localities.

A number of delegates recommended Vietnam strengthen the oversight by people and the community over investment projects, improve the capacity of land management agencies, enhance land zoning procedures and seriously enumerate assets and incomes of officials and State employees working in this field.

On the side of the Vietnamese Government, Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Chu Pham Ngoc Hien said the government had spared no efforts to build and complete a legal system and had instructed relevant ministries and agencies to join in the fight against corruption in land administration and use.

The ministry was drafting a law amending the 2003 Land Law and expected to submit it to the National Assembly for approval in 2013, he said. According to the draft of the revised law, land will be managed in line with market mechanisms, administrative procedures will be simplified and benefits of the State, people, businesses and organizations will be harmoniously addressed.

Statistics released by the Government Inspectorate show that in recent years there have been more than 100,000 land-related disputes annually, accounting for 65 percent of the total number of complaints and denouncements lodged with and reported to State agencies./.

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Gov't bids to speed up administrative reforms

HCM CITY — The Government has pledged to complete its administrative reform programme for the 2001 – 2010 period in an aim to reduce cumbersome procedures for both individuals and businesses.

The Government has urged several ministries involved in pressing issues like land and taxation to complete their tasks by the end of the year.

Of the 194 administrative procedures of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, 117 will be changed, nine replaced and 38 abolished, according to minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, director of the Government Office.

The ministry said it would modify 43 procedures involved in land issues by the end of the year, including simplifying land transfer and inheritance, land-right use and property-on-land use rights.

It also plans to simplify the issuance and reissuance of land and house-ownership certificates.

Because many fees will be abolished, reforms related to land procedures could help save around VND10 billion (US$500,000) per year, according to Phuc.

The Ministry of Construction has asked the Government to abolish three and modify 13 procedures related to housing and house construction.

Construction fees will no longer be collected, and construction licenses will be valid permanently and will not need to be renewed.

In addition, the Ministry of Finance will ask the Government for permission to simplify 271 out of 330 procedures.

These reforms would help individuals and organisations save about VND1,921 billion ($96 million) per year.

The ministry has also asked the Government to modify 35 priority procedures, which would help save VND1,582 billion ($79.1 million) per year.

As for customs procedures, the Government wants to simplify 138 out of 168 procedures, which would help save about VND705 billion ($35.25 million) per year, according to Phuc. — VNS

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City finds 5,900ha sitting idle

HCM CITY — More than 5,900 ha of land in HCM City remains unused despite being issued land-use certificates, the city's land inventory board has said in a report.

Most of it was in suburban districts like 12, Thu Duc, Binh Chanh and Nha Be.

By 1 January this year, 4,200ha of land granted to businesses and other economic entities, 1,300ha to State and Government agencies and more than 300ha to joint venture with foreign partners hadbeen left unused, the report said.

Most of them were residential plots or meant for public use or for production and business activities.

The economic downturn, which caused financial problems for the owners, stagnated the property market and led to changes in land compensation policies, was the major reason for the phenomenon.

The board also suggested that relevant authorities should constantly monitor the implementation of projects earmarked with land, cancelling those that are delayed or appear speculative in nature.

The city has more than 209,000ha of land, including 118,000ha for agriculture.

The authorities have issued land-use certificates for over 84,500ha while another 635ha remain unlicensed and unused.

The latter figure is 1,630ha lower than in 2005 and comprise mostly infertile areas on hillocks and polluted areas near industrial parks in the districts of Cu Chi (317ha), Binh Chanh (173ha), Hoc Mon (43ha) and District 9 (42ha). — VNS

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Golf course zoning to be inspected

A government taskforce will be established to inspect the implementation of golf course planning in provinces and cities nationwide, the government has decided.

The inspectors will report the results to Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung in December.

Vietnam will have 89 golf courses by 2020, most of which will only be licensed in highland and coastal areas or on land deemed unsuitable for agriculture, according to a zoning plan approved by Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung last year.

The plan has most golf courses located in north central and coastal south central areas of the country.

Golf courses will no longer be licensed on land formerly used for rice cultivation, industrial zones, urban zones and forests, especially protective forests and special-use forests.

Infertile rice-growing land can be considered for development but will only account for less than five percent of the total area licensed to each project.

Each 18-hole golf course will have a maximum area of 100 hectares.

The plan also regulates that golf course developers must not use land licensed for courses to build housing facilities and villas for trading purposes.

Land rentals for golf courses are generally much lower than those for property projects. Investors had previously exploited this loophole to cash in on their investments.

Golf course developers who fail to kick start their projects within 12 months after receiving the licenses will have their licenses revoked.

The investors will also have a deadline of 48 months after receiving license to put the facilities into operation.

Each developer is also required to submit an environmental report before winning approval.

Investors must also draw up measures to employ local laborers, especially those whose land has been cleared to make ways for the projects.

A report by the Ministry of Planning and Investment said Vietnam’s both operational and under construction golf courses cover 45,000 hectares of land – most of which had been used for crops.

The rush to build golf courses started two years ago as Vietnam’s tourism czars were working to position the country as Asia’s next big golf destination.

It has forced farmers off their land to make way for ritzy new clubhouses, and raised concerns over scarce water resources and run-offs from pesticide use.

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Land management looks to int’l standards

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment held a symposium in Hanoi on Sept. 10 to listen to foreign land managers in an effort to catch up with developed economies in the region by 2020 as planned.

Experts from Sweden, Holland, the Republic of Korea, China and the World Bank shared experiences in land registry, land pricing, land information systems, digital land management, land fund development and land compensation.

Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Pham Khoi Nguyen emphasised three key points in the orientation on land management modernisation, based on a modern organisational mechanism, advanced technology and efficiency of land management.

“All this is necessary to contribute to poverty alleviation, democracy and social parity,” said the minister, revealing that the nation’s final goal was to reach international standards by 2030.

Acting Head of the Land Management Department Phung Van Nghe said land managers should no longer simply do an administrative job but should manage the business of national properties.

He explained that land management was geared towards providing administrative and legal procedures for land users and the community.

The Law of Land, promulgated in 2003, has opened up a new era where the Government has shifted land ownership or auctioned small parcels of land to enrich State coffers.

In 2009 alone, land auctions fetched 40 trillion VND (2.04 billion USD), representing a 10-fold increase over five years ago./.

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HCM City set to streamline home ownership titles

Apartment buildings in HCM City. Excessively complicated procedures are being blamed for the slow granting of land-use rights and house ownership certificates. — VNA/VNS Photo Van Khanh

HCM CITY — New procedures on granting a single document covering both land-use rights as well as house ownership are proving difficult to implement, according to a report prepared by HCM City's National Assembly deputies.

The report, released early this month, says HCM City will adjust its procedures for granting land use rights certificates as well as titles to houses and other land-related assets to reduce difficulties for city residents and speed up the process.

Towards this, the municipal People's Committee has asked relevant branches, industries and agencies to review current regulations and submit amendment proposals before September 15.

According to the report, the Government's policy to issue one certificate that covers both land use rights and ownership of houses has been heartily welcomed by local residents.

However, the city's implementation of the policy was facing many obstacles, mainly arising from complicated procedures and requirements that considerably slowed down the process to grant certificates.

The report says that the city has to date granted over 1 million certificates since the government's one certificate policy took effect in December 10 last year.

However it would be difficult for it to meet the year-end target set by the National Assembly, for which more than 370,000 certificates would have to be granted in less than four months, it adds.

Under current regulations of the municipal People's Committee, housing projects that do not have infrastructure system acceptance certificates would not be granted ownership documents.

This stipulation has made it impossible for many households in the city to obtain legal title to their assets including land and land-related assets.

However, this rule was not included in the central Government's current policy on granting ownership certificates, the report notes.

The National Assembly delegates also mention in the report that the current process of applying for house ownership and residential land use right certificate was convoluted and time-consuming.

According to current regulations, an applicant for a house ownership and residential land use right certificate should submit a valid dossier to the provincial, or municipal-level Natural Resources and Environment Department. The latter will scan the application and forward the dossier to the district level People's Committee where the house is located.

After receiving the dossier, the district-level People's Committee fills in the house ownership and residential land use right certificate under the housing law, checks it for conformity with relevant laws, and returns it to the provincial, or municipal-level natural resources department to be handed over to the house owner.

The old process was much more simple since the applicant only had to submit a valid dossier to the district-level People's Committee, and would also receive the certificate from the district administration itself, the report said.

Another regulation that requires a new ownership certificate whenever there is a change in house ownership is also costing residents considerable time and effort that was not necessary, the report remarks.

Earlier, the new owner's name was added to the existing title certificate, for which space was provided in the document. It was only when there was no further space (after about seven title transfers) that a new certificate was issued.

The National Assembly deputies have called for changes in unnecessary and cumbersome procedures so that the process of granting and transferring title documents is made easy for both residents and officials. — VNS

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125 homes to be moved for $300m tower project

HCM CITY — As many as 125 households and organisations in downtown HCM City must move to make way for the construction of the Ben Thanh Towers project, which begins in October.

The US$300 million project is developed by Bitexco Group on the Ben Thanh Quadrangle, an 8,600-square-metre area bordered by the streets of Le Thi Hong Gam, Calmette, Pham Ngu Lao and Pho Duc Chinh in District 1's Nguyen Thai Binh Ward.

Le Quoc Cuong, head of the district's board for compensation and site clearance, said the board would inform the affected households and organisations about land clearance and compensation prices, and collect their opinions next week.

The board will apply compensation rates that were approved by the municipal People's Committee in November 2008.

The compensation price for land on Pham Ngu Lao Street is the highest, at VND165.7 million (US$8,720) per sq.m, followed by land on Pho Duc Chinh Street at VND156.9 million per square metre.

The front-street land on Le Thi Hong Gam and Calmette streets has compensation prices of VND147.8 million and VND147.2 million per sq.m, respectively, while land on the two streets' alleys is valued at VND50million-VND50.5 million.

Compensation prices for apartments acquired by the project range from VND61-73 million per square metre. — VNS

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