Joint Circular No. 11 TT/LB on temporary regulations regarding subsidies for the people's movement to plant scattered trees

JOINT CIRCULAR

Interim Regulations on Subsidies for the People's Tree Planting Movement

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Implementing Directive No. 425/TTg dated November 19, 1977 of the Prime Minister on developing the people's scattered tree planting movement; the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Forestry hereby promulgate interim regulations on subsidies for the people's scattered tree planting movement as follows:

I. PRINCIPLES OF SUBSIDIES

1. Scattered tree planting is a task for all citizens, mainly carried out by the people themselves, with the State only providing support to the people for some necessary expenses over a few years depending on the type of trees and planting conditions in each region and locality. When these bases have income from the results of tree planting, they will use part of that income to continue planting trees for subsequent rounds.

2. The beneficiaries of subsidies are communes, cooperatives, enterprises, agencies, and schools directly engaged in scattered tree planting according to plans assigned by the State to localities.

3. The source of subsidy funds is the full budget for public welfare expenses (category I, Clause 5, Item 15) covered by the local budget.

II. CONTENTS OF SUBSIDIES

1. Subsidy for initial costs at the time of planting.

The State supports entities planting trees with a portion of the funds to purchase seeds, pesticides, or seedlings for the planting movement. Depending on soil conditions and the type of trees planted in each region, the People's Committees of provinces and cities shall review specific subsidy levels and guide districts in establishing budgets and organizing implementation. The average subsidy per hectare of planted trees should not exceed 15 dong.

Given the need for scattered tree planting, the number of trees planted per hectare must be specified as the basis for reviewing subsidies (as per the attached guidance document from the Ministry of Forestry).

2. Costs for serving the movement.

- Costs for building one model commune per county for the people's scattered tree planting movement. The State assists with planning and some necessary technical measures for tree varieties.

- Costs for technical guidance on tree planting, organizing county and provincial summary meetings, propaganda, encouragement, and motivation for the movement, rewarding outstanding collectives and individuals to maintain and develop the movement continuously and firmly.

- In addition, for midland and mountain counties, the State provides a one-time subsidy for initial funding to equip machinery and tools for a nursery with a scale of up to one million seedlings to provide seedlings for forest planting and scattered tree planting. Counties must organize business operations without incurring losses.

Specific subsidy levels for the above items shall be reviewed by the People's Committees of provinces and cities based on current regulations, supporting only truly necessary expenses according to the principle that the people do most of the work, with the State providing partial support.

III. IMPLEMENTATION

Provincial and municipal People's Committees are responsible for directly guiding the development of the people's scattered tree planting movement within their jurisdictions, making it strong, widespread, and continuous.

The Forest Department (or Forest Office) is responsible for assisting the People's Committees of provinces and cities in organizing and implementing guidance, helping entities establish clear territorial division plans, selecting suitable tree varieties for soil conditions in each region, inspecting entity implementation, preparing detailed budgets, and strictly managing the use of funds to ensure compliance with the purposes of the subsidies stipulated in this joint circular.

Every quarter and at year-end, the Forest Departments (or Forest Offices) must compile reports on the implementation of plans, results of the scattered tree planting movement, and settlement of expenditures, sending them to the People's Committees of provinces and cities, which will forward them to the Ministry of Forestry and the Ministry of Finance.

Financial Departments are responsible for assisting the People's Committees of provinces and cities in reviewing specific expenditure levels, organizing the distribution of funds to Forest Departments (or Forest Offices), guiding and supervising the use of subsidies in accordance with current policies and regulations.

Where the budget has already been implemented, this expenditure shall be recorded in the county budget, distributed by the County Finance Office according to the County Forest Office (or Forest Management Board). All counties must submit their budget estimates and expenditure settlements for tree planting subsidies to the Forest Department for consolidation and approval according to the sector.

These interim regulations on subsidies for the people's scattered tree planting movement shall take effect from January 1, 1978. Any previous regulations contrary to this circular are hereby abolished.