Decision No. 246/QD-TTg Mechanism for special cases regarding land recovery; allocation of residential land and agricultural production land to resettled households for the Son La Hydropower Project

Pursuant to …;

Special mechanism for land recovery; allocation of residential land and agricultural production land to households resettled for the Son La Hydropower Project

______________________________

PRIME MINISTER

Pursuant to the Law on Organization of the Government dated December 25, 2001;

Based on the Land Law dated November 26, 2003;

Pursuant to Decree No. 181/2004/NĐ-CP dated October 29, 2004 of the Government on the implementation of the Land Law 2003;

Pursuant to Decree No. 197/2004/NĐ-CP dated December 3, 2004 of the Government on compensation, support, and resettlement when the State recovers land;

Pursuant to Decree No. 84/2007/NĐ-CP dated May 25, 2007 of the Government providing additional regulations on issuing certificates of land use rights, recovering land, exercising land use rights, procedures and formalities for compensation, support, and resettlement when the State recovers land, and resolving complaints about land;

Considering the proposal of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment at the report No. 46/TTr-BTNMT dated November 7, 2007; opinions of the Ministries of Planning and Investment, Finance, Agriculture and Rural Development, and the People's Committees of the provinces of Son La, Dien Bien, and Lai Chau regarding the special mechanism for land recovery; allocation of residential land and agricultural production land to households resettled for the Son La Hydropower Project,

DECISION:

Article 1.Recovery of land; allocation of residential land and agricultural production land

1. General principles:

a) The area of land within the reservoir zone and the areas planned for construction projects related to the Son La Hydropower Plant must be recovered and transferred to the Management Board of the Son La Hydropower Plant Project to serve the Son La Hydropower Plant Project.

b) The area of residential land and agricultural production land within the zones for resettling residents (including in-place resettlement and re-cultivation zones) and the areas for construction projects related to resettlement zones must be recovered and transferred to the Resettlement Project Management Board at the district or provincial level to serve the resettlement and re-cultivation of households resettled for the Son La Hydropower Project. After completing the allocation of residential land and agricultural production land and the construction of related facilities in the resettlement zones, the Resettlement Project Management Board at the district or provincial level must transfer the recovered land area, the allocated land area, and relevant documents to the People's Committee at the district level to implement the issuance of certificates of land use rights and establish land records according to the provisions of the Land Law.

c) The total area of recovered land must correspond to the total area of allocated land and be consistent with local land funds.

d) The data on the area of recovered land and the area of allocated land must be determined based on official cadastral maps or cadastral surveys as prescribed by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment. In cases where other documents are used to determine the area of recovered land and allocated land, they must be implemented according to the guidelines of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and must be reviewed, appraised, and confirmed by the provincial land management agency.

2. Recovery of land:

a) The area of land within the zones: reservoir, model resettlement project, resettlement, agricultural production land for resettled residents, construction of related projects to resettlement zones, re-cultivation zones (including in-place resettlement and re-cultivation), and construction of projects related to the Son La Hydropower Plant will be recovered by the State to serve the construction of the Son La Hydropower Plant.

The recovery of land shall be carried out in accordance with Article 39 of the Land Law 2003. The procedures for recovering land shall be conducted in accordance with Article 130 of Decree No. 181/2004/NĐ-CP dated October 29, 2004 of the Government guiding the implementation of the Land Law 2003 (hereinafter referred to as Decree No. 181/2004/NĐ-CP) and Articles 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, and 59 of Decree No. 84/2007/NĐ-CP dated May 25, 2007 of the Government providing additional regulations on issuing certificates of land use rights, recovering land, exercising land use rights, procedures and formalities for compensation, support, and resettlement when the State recovers land, and resolving complaints about land (hereinafter referred to as Decree No. 84/2007/NĐ-CP).

In cases where the landowner agrees without disputes or complaints during land clearance and is consistent with the land use plan of the Son La Hydropower Project, the competent state authority may issue a decision to recover land without waiting for the full period stipulated by the Land Law.

b) Preparation of land recovery files shall be carried out in accordance with Article 50 of Decree No. 84/2007/NĐ-CP.

For areas designated as reservoir zones where there are no official cadastral maps, cadastral surveys of individual plots or adjacent plots of the same land user shall be conducted to serve the determination of the area of recovered land without the need for a complete official cadastral map of the entire recovered land area.

For other areas where there are no official cadastral maps, official cadastral maps or cadastral surveys of individual plots must be conducted. It is allowed to only conduct official cadastral mapping of the recovered land area without necessarily conducting an official cadastral map covering the entire commune administrative unit where the land needs to be recovered. If there is no official cadastral map but there is a suitable topographic map, it is permitted to supplement detailed cadastral surveys on the basis of the topographic map to serve the determination of the area of recovered land.

The procedure for preparing investment surveying and mapping projects (or technical design - budget) to serve land recovery, quality control inspection regulations shall be carried out in accordance with the regulations of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment; appraisal, approval, and acceptance of investment surveying and mapping projects (or technical design - budget) shall be carried out in accordance with the regulations of the Provincial People's Committee.

3. Allocation of land:

a) The basis for allocating land shall be carried out in accordance with Article 31 of the Land Law 2003.

b) Procedures and formalities for allocating residential land and agricultural production land, and issuing certificates of land use rights to resettled residents:

The People's Committee of the district where the resettled population is located (the receiving district) shall coordinate with the People's Committee of the district from which the resettled population comes (the sending district) to direct the People's Committee of the commune in the receiving district, the Management Board of the Resettlement Project at the district level to develop a land allocation plan, determine the scale and location of residential plots on-site, discuss the plan with the resettled population, revise the plan if necessary, and organize a draw to determine the users of the plots and proceed with allocating residential land on-site. When allocating residential land on-site, a land allocation record must be established, clearly defining the boundaries of the allocated plot with adjacent plots, having confirmation from the owners of adjacent plots, and specifying the area of the plot as temporarily determined (the final area will be determined later, and the land user will have full rights to use the plot according to the provisions of the Land Law from the date of actual land handover).

After allocating residential land on-site, the Management Board of the Resettlement Project at the district or provincial level must return the entire land allocation dossier to the People's Committee of the district for regular cadastral map surveying, issuing land use right certificates, and establishing cadastral records in accordance with regulations.

c) The procedures and formalities for allocating land and issuing land use right certificates to other subjects shall be implemented in accordance with current laws on land.

4. In cases where the Management Board of the Resettlement Project at the district or provincial level has data on the area of land to be reclaimed but such data is not determined according to the technical regulations of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment or the provincial land management agency, and contracts for land surveys have been signed with consultants and completed or are being implemented, the following shall apply:

The provincial land management agency shall be responsible for reviewing the quality of products carried out by the Management Board of the Resettlement Project. For ongoing contracts that have not yet been inspected and evaluated for product quality, the Management Board of the Resettlement Project at the district or provincial level must inspect and evaluate the product quality according to the regulations of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment before transferring the product to the provincial land management agency for review.

5. The area of land determined by manual measurement, which has been reclaimed, compensated for, or not yet compensated for, and which has been allocated or not yet allocated to the resettled population, shall be handled as follows:

a) For areas within the reservoir that need to reclaim land already submerged (below 140 meters in height), the determined area shall be used for land compensation.

b) For areas within the reservoir that need to reclaim land but are not yet submerged, where the area has not been rechecked and compensation for land has already been paid, the determined area shall be used for land compensation.

c) For areas within the reservoir that need to reclaim land but are not yet submerged, where the area has not been rechecked and compensation for land has not yet been paid, a recheck of the area determination using cadastral extraction methods must be conducted. The area determined through cadastral extraction methods shall be used for land compensation.

d) For areas of land to be reclaimed for resettlement, reallocation, and construction projects related to the Son La Hydropower Project, where the area has not been checked, the ground surface has been leveled, and the shape of the plots has been altered due to human or natural factors, the determined area shall be used for land compensation.

đ) For areas requiring land to be reclaimed for resettlement, reallocation, and construction projects related to the Son La Hydropower Project, where the area has not been checked, leveling has not been done, the plots have not been deformed, and compensation for land has already been paid, a re-extraction of cadastral data or regular cadastral map surveying must be conducted to accurately determine the reclaimed land area. If the newly determined area is smaller than the previously reclaimed area, no additional payment will be sought from the land user for the difference in compensation; if the newly determined area is larger than the previously reclaimed area, additional compensation must be provided to the land user for the excess area.

e) For areas of land (residential land and agricultural production land) that have been allocated to the resettled population, regular cadastral map surveying must be conducted, and the allocated area must be corrected if there is a discrepancy between the newly determined area and the allocated area. The accurate area is the area determined through regular cadastral map surveying.

g) For areas requiring land to be reclaimed (reservoir areas, resettlement areas, agricultural production land for the resettled population, and construction projects related to resettlement, planned construction projects related to the Son La Hydropower Project, and agricultural production land of households relocated above the flood level who must move to distant resettlement sites), where land recovery documentation is being prepared or there is a policy to reclaim land, regular cadastral map surveying or cadastral extraction must be conducted in accordance with the technical regulations of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment to serve the purpose of land compensation and recovery.

Article 2. Detailed planning for resettlement areas, agricultural production land, and land allocation to the resettled population:

1. The content, procedures for developing, reviewing, and approving detailed plans for relocation and resettlement in rural areas of the Son La Hydropower Project shall be carried out in accordance with the guidelines of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

After implementing the detailed planning, it must be cross-checked and re-examined to ensure the compatibility between the detailed planning for the resettlement area and agricultural land with the actual site. In cases where they comply with regulations, the detailed planning documents shall be used to allocate land and prepare the land use right certificate application dossier. If the plots of land already identified on-site and allocated to the displaced residents do not fully align with the approved detailed planning for the resettlement area and agricultural land, the detailed planning will not be adjusted but instead, a formal cadastral map shall be surveyed, a cadastral file established, and land use right certificates issued based on the actual area allocated to households. The entities implementing the detailed planning must submit a specific report on the discrepancies between the detailed planning and the implementation results and bear responsibility for such discrepancies.

2. Detailed planning for urban resettlement areas shall be carried out in accordance with the guidelines of the Ministry of Construction.

Article 3. Sources of funds and utilization of funds

1. Utilize the relocation and resettlement funds of the Son La Hydropower Project to cover costs for preparing cadastral files for land to be expropriated; allocating land and issuing land use right certificates for the Son La Hydropower Project.

These costs replace the management fee for land adjustment stipulated in Clause 2, Article 31 of Decision No. 02/2007/QD-TTg dated January 9, 2007, of the Government Chairman regarding the provisions on compensation, support, and resettlement for the Son La Hydropower Project.

2. The People's Committees of the provinces of Son La, Lai Chau, and Dien Bien shall instruct relevant agencies to calculate the budget for the tasks specified in Clause 1 of this Article, report to the Ministries of Planning and Investment, Finance, and Agriculture and Rural Development for consolidation, and submit to the Prime Minister for approval in accordance with Article 50 of Decree No. 84/2007/NĐ-CP. This budget will be supplemented into the total investment cost of the relocation and resettlement component of the Son La Hydropower Project to request the Prime Minister to approve the supplementary and adjustment of the overall relocation and resettlement plan for the Son La Hydropower Project.

3. For projects that have completed investment or technical design - project estimate works as specified in Clauses 1 and 2 of this Article: The People's Committees of the provinces of Dien Bien, Son La, and Lai Chau may use the relocation and resettlement funds allocated to the province annually for advance payment and settlement; in cases of shortage, the People's Committees of the provinces shall aggregate and report to the Prime Minister for consideration and decision.

4. For projects that are currently being implemented or will be implemented as specified in Clauses 1 and 2 of this Article: The People's Committees of the provinces of Dien Bien, Son La, and Lai Chau shall aggregate for ongoing projects, establish investment projects for upcoming projects, and submit to the Prime Minister for approval in accordance with Clause 2 of this Article.

Article 4. Implementation

1. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment shall be responsible for guiding the provinces of Son La, Dien Bien, and Lai Chau on the procedures for establishing investment projects or technical design - project estimates for cadastral survey work, quality control regulations; procedures and formalities for land recovery, allocation, and issuance of land use right certificates for displaced residents of the Son La Hydropower Project in compliance with this Decision. The guidance must simplify administrative procedures and facilitate implementation.

2. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, in coordination with the Ministries of Planning and Investment and Finance, shall consolidate the projects for preparing cadastral files for land to be expropriated under the Son La Hydropower Project, which have been adjusted and supplemented according to the proposals of the People's Committees of the provinces of Son La, Dien Bien, and Lai Chau, and incorporate them into the overall relocation and resettlement plan for the Son La Hydropower Project for submission to the Prime Minister for approval.

3. The Ministry of Finance shall be responsible for guiding the People's Committees of the provinces of Son La, Dien Bien, and Lai Chau on the final settlement of funds for projects preparing cadastral files for land to be expropriated and land allocation under the Son La Hydropower Project; inspecting the final settlement in accordance with regulations.

4. The People's Committees of the provinces of Dien Bien, Son La, and Lai Chau shall be responsible for directing and managing investments, advance payments, and settlements for projects for investment or technical design - project estimates for components preparing cadastral files for land to be expropriated and land allocation under the Son La Hydropower Project in accordance with current regulations and bear responsibility for decisions made.

5. The Vietnam Electricity Corporation shall direct the Son La Hydropower Project Management Board to closely cooperate with the People's Committees of the provinces of Son La, Dien Bien, and Lai Chau during the organization and implementation of land recovery and allocation, and land management within the reservoir area and construction site of the Son La Hydropower Plant.

6. During the implementation of this Decision, if there are difficulties, the People's Committees of the provinces of Son La, Dien Bien, and Lai Chau shall report to the Ministries of Natural Resources and Environment, Planning and Investment, Finance, and Agriculture and Rural Development for examination and resolution within their authority or report to the Prime Minister for examination and decision.

Article 5. This Decision shall take effect from the date of signing.

The Ministers of the Ministries of Planning and Investment, Finance, Agriculture and Rural Development, Natural Resources and Environment, the Chairmen of the People's Committees of the provinces of Son La, Dien Bien, and Lai Chau, and the Heads of related agencies are responsible for enforcing this Decision.