More than 1,250 lawsuits filed by farmers in southern Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province against Taiwanese MSG-maker Vedan Vietnam have been withdrawn after Vedan paid compensation to the farmers on Wednesday.
The lawsuits were filed to collect compensation for damage to farmland caused by the company's illegal discharge of untreated waste water into the Thi Vai River.
Nguyen Thanh Ngoc, the lawyer representing farmers in the province's Tan Thanh district, withdrew the lawsuits after Vedan paid VND26.8 billion to 1,255 local farmers affected.
Tran Van Cuong, deputy head of the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said the company on Tuesday transferred half of the total VND53.6 billion ($2.8 million) compensation for Tan Thanh district's farmers.
The company also paid VND500 million ($26,000) to cover costs of calculating the losses by Tan Thanh district authorities.
Cuong said the provincial People's Committee would entrust Tan Thanh District authorities to draw up a list of names of farmers and the payment amounts. The disbursement would then be conducted within the next five days.
In addition, Vedan on Tuesday transferred VND22.9 billion to the bank accounts of farmers in HCMC's Can Gio District, the only area in the city affected by the pollution.
They also gave VND500 million ($26,000) to Can Gio district authorities to cover the costs of calculating the losses.
In Dong Nai, farmers have yet to agree on the amount of compensation and they continue to file lawsuits against Vedan with more than 4,000 applications.
Dong Nai Province People's Committee has ordered the Department of Natural Resources and Environment to visit the affected areas to talk to farmers and calculate the amount of financial losses and measure the land area affected by the pollution.
Farmers in Ho Chi Minh City and Ba Ria – Vung Tau Province said they will drop their lawsuits against the MSG manufacturer, Vedan Vietnam, if the river-polluter fully follows-through with its compensation committments.