Directive No. 393/TTg On planning residential areas, strengthening infrastructure, and rearranging production in ethnic minority and mountainous regions

DIRECTIVE

OF THE PRIME MINISTER

Regarding urban planning, strengthening infrastructure, and organizing production in ethnic minority and mountainous regions

In recent years, the Party and State have adopted many policies and directives and focused on implementing programs and projects aimed at developing the economy and society in ethnic minority and mountainous areas. Local party committees and governments at all levels have actively mobilized ethnic minorities to implement these policies, achieving notable progress: the economy has seen relatively high growth rates; a portion of ethnic groups who were accustomed to subsistence farming have shifted their crop and livestock structures, forming some commodity economic zones, reducing forest destruction; effective production and business models have been established, with more households excelling in economic activities; economic and social infrastructure has improved; social order and national defense security have been maintained... These changes have laid a foundation for ethnic minority and mountainous regions to develop at a faster pace in the new phase.

However, the current state of economic and social development in ethnic minority and mountainous regions remains low, with many difficulties in the lives of ethnic minorities, low education levels, and in many places, ethnic groups still live scattered and dispersed with shifting cultivation practices; some localities have not synchronously implemented urban planning, infrastructure enhancement, and production reorganization, thus investment effectiveness has not been high.

To continue implementing Resolution 22-NQ/TW of the Political Bureau and Decision 72/HĐBT of the Chairman of the Council of Ministers (now Prime Minister), aiming to accelerate the speed of economic and social development in line with the characteristics of ethnic minority and mountainous regions, preparing a foundation for the country to enter the industrialization and modernization period; the Prime Minister issues the following directive:

I. URBAN PLANNING AND POPULATION SETTLEMENT:

Urban planning and population settlement is an urgent task with a decisive significance for the development of the economy and society in ethnic minority mountainous regions. The Ministry of Planning and Investment shall lead together with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Committee for Ethnic Minorities and Mountainous Areas, and relevant ministries and sectors to guide provinces in ethnic minority and mountainous regions to complete urban planning and population settlement for the next 5 to 15 years by the end of the fourth quarter of 1996. Based on this plan, from now until the year 2000, efforts should be made to gradually build and implement adjustment projects for new population clusters. During the process of urban planning and population settlement in mountainous areas, attention must be paid to the following issues:

1- Planning and population settlement must be based on the overall economic and social development plan for the 1996-2010 period of the locality, natural conditions, and characteristics of each region and ethnic group, arranging population clusters according to the principle of not causing significant disruptions in people's lives, adjusting populations gradually to achieve the goals and requirements set from low to high, from parts to the whole. In the short term, mobilize ethnic minorities to voluntarily move from scattered settlements to reasonable villages and hamlets. Publicly announce the approved population planning so that ethnic minorities know and can proactively plan their construction and long-term stable living arrangements.

2- Population settlement must be based on transportation system development planning, which is a breakthrough, leading ahead in the formation of population clusters, towns, marketplaces, village centers, commodity economic zones... In areas where population clusters have already formed, with existing transportation, schools, health stations, continue to support for long-term stability. In areas where ethnic minorities are still scattered, mobilize ethnic minorities to voluntarily move to villages and hamlets near roads or will open up transportation routes.

3- In 1996, the Committee for Ethnic Minorities and Mountainous Areas shall lead in collaboration with relevant ministries and sectors to complete the program on building village centers; direct localities to build pilot village centers in border highland provinces, various regions, and different ethnic communities, and complete by 1997 for experience summary and widespread application. Strive to form 500 village centers by 2000, implementing key objectives as a driving force for economic and social development in small regions and as a basis for population cluster arrangement and construction.

4- Population settlement must be linked with the planning of raw material regions and processing facilities. Depending on the specific conditions of each raw material region, develop appropriate scale crops, livestock, processing industry, mining industry, construction materials, traditional trades to produce many commodity products serving domestic consumption and export.

Population settlement must be linked with the implementation of the stable settlement program according to stabilization and development projects, special assistance programs for particularly difficult ethnic groups, Program 327/CT, National Program 06/CP... and social policies. These programs must be completed thoroughly in each area to quickly create clear changes in each ethnic minority mountainous region. For households engaged in shifting cultivation and scattered living in extremely difficult areas with excessively high investment costs, mobilize ethnic minorities to move to reside and engage in production in more favorable planned areas.

To ensure stable production and living for population clusters, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development must cooperate with relevant departments and localities to intensify land allocation, forest allocation, and contracting for household encirclement, protection, and new planting; take the family as the autonomous economic unit, establish long-term land use rights for households, allocate residential land, family gardens, and household forests suitable to meet the essential needs of life.

When arranging population settlement in border regions, attention must be given to linking with security and defense tasks, mine clearance, and resettling people to live and produce in border areas.

For regions planned for hydropower and irrigation projects such as the Son La reservoir area, Yaly, and flooded areas due to the Son La hydropower project... population settlement should be arranged according to the above direction to stabilize long-term residence and living for ethnic minorities.

II. BUILDING INFRASTRUCTURE TO MEET THE REQUIREMENTS OF ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

II. CONSTRUCTING INFRASTRUCTURE TO MEET THE REQUIREMENTS OF ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

1- Upgrading and constructing transportation routes is a top priority in building infrastructure in mountainous regions. By the year 2000, main routes leading to mountainous areas should be paved with asphalt, provincial-to-district roads should be passable throughout the four seasons, and there should be automobile access to communal centers. Investment capital for transportation projects will come from the state budget and contributions from the people, with priority given to upgrading and constructing border roads and roads leading to remote districts. Roads connecting communal centers to villages and hamlets will primarily be built by the local population, with the state providing partial support in materials such as cement, steel, explosives, and cables for makeshift bridges. The Ministry of Transport will study and propose management measures and construction systems for border roads and roads serving security and defense purposes.

2- By the year 2000, the national power grid should be extended to provincial capitals, district capitals, and communal centers that have been developed, and 60% of communes should have electricity. In remote and inaccessible areas where it is not feasible to extend the power grid, small and micro hydropower plants and other energy sources must be vigorously developed so that ethnic minorities and mountain residents can use electricity for production and daily life.

3- Urgently construct large-scale water conservancy projects and reservoirs to irrigate industrial crop areas; prepare to build some hydropower projects tied to economic development, environmental protection, water balance, and flood control.

4- Combine solutions for production water with domestic water, continue implementing clean water programs to serve ethnic minority and mountain residents, prioritizing clean water provision in Zone III and the difficult areas of Zone II. Strive to ensure that 60% of the population in ethnic minority and mountain areas have access to clean water by the year 2000, ensuring sufficient water supply for border guard posts.

5- From now until the year 2000, basic completion of the construction of boarding schools for ethnic minorities at the provincial and district levels and dormitory schools at commune level; each district should have a health center and a multi-purpose clinic at the communal center; villages should have medical kits, and each district and communal center should have broadcasting stations; communes and border guard posts should be able to communicate via telephone... to ensure that the population enjoys cultural services and social welfare benefits.

III. REORGANIZING PRODUCTION:

Along with planning and arranging residential clusters, strengthening infrastructure in mountainous areas must closely coordinate with reorganizing production.

1- Each locality must fully exploit its potential and strengths to develop the economy and society with high, effective, and sustainable growth rates:

- Each province, while paying adequate attention to the general situation, must focus on regions and areas rich in potential and advantages, key industries, and major products to combine with other domestic and foreign resources to promote overall development.

- Provinces with ethnic minorities and mountainous areas that have strengths in agriculture, forestry, industry, and tourism services, and large-scale commodity production areas must mobilize resources from these sectors to support districts and communes in difficult areas.

- For provinces in highlands facing many difficulties, after fully exploiting local resources, the central government will consider supporting to prioritize the development of economic and social goals, creating conditions for these localities to overcome poverty and prepare for faster development after the year 2000.

2- Accelerate the restructuring of the economy in ethnic minority and mountainous areas towards strong commodity economic development, increasing the proportion of industry and services, and reducing the proportion of agriculture and forestry in GDP. Each area must have appropriate directions, goals, and solutions for reorganizing production.

a) For Zone I and the temporarily stable part of Zone II: Continue expanding cultivated land in a reasonable manner, implementing intensive farming, applying scientific and technological progress, increasing crop yields and livestock production linked to processing and consumption, forming commodity production zones. Vigorously develop processing industry, mining, construction materials, tourism, services, traditional crafts, form dynamic zones and satellite zones for industrial complexes. Implement policies to encourage and insure production, provide preferential loans for certain types of products.

Focus on developing human resources, raising literacy rates, promoting science and technology, improving the ecological environment to ensure sustainable growth.

b) For Zone III and the difficult part of Zone II

The goal is to eliminate shifting cultivation and settlement by the year 2000, reduce the number of poor households below 30%, and prevent food shortages from 1997 and 1998 onwards. The stabilization of the lives of ethnic minorities in this area mainly depends on agricultural development, gradually forming commodity production zones from crops and livestock, linked with processing and consumption. Developing small-scale primary industries, exploiting small mines, and developing small and cottage industries. The main source of investment in this area is the state budget, preferential loans for priority infrastructure construction, production development, improving literacy, building commune centers, and social programs such as poverty alleviation, culture, health, education...

IV. IMPLEMENTATION

The planning and arrangement of residential clusters, construction of infrastructure, and reorganization of production in areas inhabited by ethnic minorities and mountainous regions is a task carried out jointly by the state and the people. Provincial People's Committees in ethnic minority and mountainous regions have the responsibility to lead the planning and implementation of construction projects.

1- Regarding the responsibilities of central ministries and sectors:

- The Ministry of Planning and Investment is responsible for:

+ Assisting mountainous localities in coordinating residential cluster planning with the overall socio-economic development planning of each locality; jointly with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Committee for Ethnic Minorities and Mountainous Areas to organize the review of residential cluster planning in ethnic minority mountainous regions.

+ Coordinating with relevant ministries and sectors to prioritize investment and support the socio-economic development of ethnic minority and mountainous regions through central and local government budgets, foreign capital, various economic components' capital, credit funds, and development assistance funds, focusing on completing key programs and projects in each region; allocating funds for investigation, research, planning, and establishing some projects to attract domestic and foreign investment.

- The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, together with the General Department of Land Administration, will study and propose measures to address issues related to land arising during the process of resettling residents and reorganizing production.

- The Ministries of Transport, Construction, Science, Technology, and Environment will assist mountainous provinces in developing infrastructure solutions that ensure aesthetic landscapes and environmental hygiene.

Other central ministries and sectors will cooperate with relevant sectors and localities according to their functions to study and submit to the Prime Minister adjustments to certain policies and regulations that are still unreasonable or incomplete by the fourth quarter of 1996, including: introducing scientific and technological progress to mountainous regions; reforming teaching methods in ethnic minority boarding schools to produce competent cadres meeting current needs and serving as long-term cadre training sources; organizing and operating the healthcare network in ethnic minority and mountainous regions; preserving and promoting traditional ethnic cultural identity, broadcasting programs in ethnic languages, installing simple radio receivers, applying price subsidies for these items to sell at low prices to ethnic minorities in particularly difficult areas; encouraging security and defense units along borders and highlands to support economic and social development in ethnic minority and mountainous regions; retirement benefits, salary scales, and allowances for village chiefs, headmen, and tribal elders working in mountainous regions; civil servants working in mountainous regions, etc.

2- Local authorities in ethnic minority and mountainous regions are responsible for directing the arrangement of residents, construction of infrastructure, and reorganization of production in their respective localities, paying particular attention to:

a) Cooperating with relevant ministries and sectors:

- Implementing comprehensive socio-economic projects in each micro-region, initially creating models and expanding them widely to quickly change the economic and social face of mountainous regions.

- Mobilizing businesses operating in ethnic minority and mountainous regions to support the construction of infrastructure projects, education, healthcare, and social culture.

- Encouraging and mobilizing southern localities to form partnerships and joint ventures with localities and units in ethnic minority and mountainous regions to help these localities overcome difficulties.

b) During the process of arranging residents, constructing infrastructure, and reorganizing production, tasks that local ethnic communities can undertake should be assigned to them to contribute to job creation and income increase while enhancing their sense of responsibility in managing and utilizing facilities in the future.

3- Strengthening inspection and supervision of the implementation of policies and strategies for socio-economic development in ethnic minority and mountainous regions, especially in basic construction investment and program/project implementation to ensure efficient use of investment resources and prevent loss.

4- Each ministry and sector at the central level must assign a leader and some specialized staff to handle ethnic minority and mountainous region affairs. At provincial and district levels in ethnic minority and mountainous regions, leaders and sectors must be assigned to manage weak areas and strengthen cadres in weak bases. The Committee for Ethnic Minorities and Mountainous Areas will proactively coordinate with the Government's Organization and Cadre Management Board and localities to complete organizational restructuring for ethnic minority and mountainous region work from the central to provincial and district levels by the third quarter of 1996.

Planning and arranging residential clusters, strengthening infrastructure, and reorganizing production in ethnic minority and mountainous regions is a strategic important task. The Prime Minister requests the Committee for Ethnic Minorities and Mountainous Areas to coordinate with ministries, sectors, and localities to urgently implement this Directive.