Decision No. 755/QD-TTg approves the policy to support residential land, production land, and drinking water for poor households of ethnic minorities and poor households in particularly difficult communes, villages, and hamlets.

Pursuant to …;

Approving the policy to support residential land, production land, and clean water for poor households of ethnic minorities and poor households in particularly difficult communes, villages, and hamlets

PRIME MINISTER

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

Pursuant to Resolution No. 539/NQ-UBTVQH13 dated October 30, 2012 of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly on the results of supervision of the implementation of policies and laws regarding residential land and production land for ethnic minority groups;

Considering the proposal of the Minister, Chairman of the National Ethnic Minorities Committee,

DECISION:

Article 1. Approving the policy to support residential land, production land, and clean water for poor households of ethnic minorities and poor households in particularly difficult communes, villages, and hamlets during the period 2013-2015 with the following target groups, scope, and objectives:

1. Objectives:

The target group includes poor households of ethnic minorities and poor households in particularly difficult communes, villages, and hamlets according to the criteria for poor households stipulated in Decision No. 09/2011/QĐ-TTg dated January 30, 2011 of the Prime Minister on issuing standards for poor and near-poor households applicable from 2011 to 2015, who live by agriculture and forestry, do not have or do not have enough residential and production land as prescribed at the local level, face difficulties in accessing clean water, and have not benefited from policies on residential land, production land, and clean water.

2. Scope:

This policy applies to all poor households of ethnic minorities throughout the country and poor households in particularly difficult communes, villages, hamlets, villages, and wards (hereinafter referred to collectively as "villages"). Specifically, poor households of ethnic minorities and poor households in communes and villages in the Mekong Delta region will implement a policy to support residential land, production land, and job creation as stipulated in another decision of the Prime Minister.

3. Objectives:

Strive to resolve the issue of insufficient residential and production land for 70% of households by the end of 2015; basically resolve the problem of insufficient clean water for poor households of ethnic minorities and poor households in particularly difficult communes, villages, and hamlets by the end of 2015.

Article 2. Implementation principles

1. Directly support poor households of ethnic minorities and poor households in particularly difficult communes and villages; ensure transparency, fairness, and correct targeting.

2. Households receiving support for residential land, production land, and clean water must use these resources for production development and improving living conditions, contributing to poverty reduction; they may not transfer, gift, lease, mortgage, or pledge residential or production land within ten years from the date of land allocation by the State.

3. Laborers supported for vocational training and career transition must use the funds for their intended purpose through local vocational training institutions or in conjunction with policies supporting vocational training and employment at enterprises.

4. Each poor household of ethnic minorities and poor household in particularly difficult communes and villages that does not have or does not have sufficient production land as prescribed shall only be supported in one form as stipulated in Clause 1, Article 3 of this Decision.

Article 3. Content of the policy

1. Support for production land:

a) Direct provision of production land:

- Production land quota per household: Based on the average standard of each locality;

- In areas where there is still a land fund, direct financial support and loans from the Social Policy Bank to create a land fund are provided. The level of support from the central budget and loans from the Social Policy Bank for each household to create a production land fund averages 30 million VND per household. Of this, the central budget supports 15 million VND per household and can borrow up to a maximum of 15 million VND per household, with a loan term of five years and an interest rate of 0.1% per month equivalent to 1.2% per year;

- The production land fund to be allocated to poor households of ethnic minorities and poor households includes: Land planned by the State to support poor households of ethnic minorities and poor households as stipulated in this Decision; land recovered from agricultural and forest farms and enterprises after restructuring pursuant to Resolution No. 28-NQ/TW dated June 16, 2003 of the Politburo on continuing to restructure, reform, and develop state-owned agricultural and forest farms; land reclaimed and restored, land donated, purchased, or transferred voluntarily; land recovered from violations of land laws and other sources;

b) In areas where there is no remaining land fund to allocate production land to households, they will be supported to switch to one of the following forms:

- Support for career transition:

+ For households with laborers studying to change careers, the central budget will provide a maximum of 4 million VND per laborer; the specific level of support for each laborer will be based on tuition fees, the profession, and actual study time, decided by the provincial People's Committee Chairman.

+ For households with laborers needing capital to purchase agricultural tools and machinery for agricultural services or to engage in other trades to increase income, the central budget will provide 5 million VND per household and allow borrowing up to a maximum of 15 million VND per household, with a loan term of five years and an interest rate of 0.1% per month equivalent to 1.2% per year.

In addition to the aforementioned policies, households and laborers transitioning careers will also benefit from preferential policies related to vocational training as stipulated currently. Localities may decide additional levels of support based on their budget capacity.

- Support for labor export: Households and individuals going abroad under this Decision will be implemented according to the mechanism and policy stipulated in Decision No. 71/2009/QĐ-TTg dated April 29, 2009 of the Prime Minister on approving the plan to support poor districts in promoting labor export to sustainably reduce poverty from 2009 to 2020.

- Allocation of forest protection and planting contracts: Households implementing forest protection and planting contracts under this Decision will be implemented according to the mechanism and policy stipulated in Resolution No. 30a/2008/NQ-CP dated December 27, 2008 of the Government on the Program to Rapidly and Sustainably Reduce Poverty in 62 Poor Districts and Decision No. 57/QĐ-TTg dated January 9, 2013 of the Prime Minister on approving the Plan for Forest Protection and Development from 2011 to 2020.

2. Support for residential land:

The area of residential land allocated per household averages 200 square meters per household. Provincial People's Committees are responsible for balancing the land fund and budget to allocate land for housing construction for households.²3. Support for clean water:

3. Support for potable water:

a) Dispersed domestic water supply: For poor households of ethnic minorities and poor households in particularly difficult communes, villages, and hamlets facing difficulties with domestic water supply, the State shall support an average of VND 1.3 million per household to construct water storage tanks, dig wells, or create sources of domestic water.

b) Centralized domestic water supply: Investment in constructing domestic water supply facilities in villages according to projects under Decision No. 1592/QD-TTg dated October 12, 2009, of the Prime Minister, which has been approved. The total investment for each project shall be determined by the investor based on actual conditions; among which, the central budget shall provide an average of VND 1.3 billion per project.

c) Maintenance and repair of centralized domestic water supply facilities constructed under Decision No. 134/2004/QĐ-TTg dated July 20, 2004; Decision No. 1592/QĐ-TTg dated October 12, 2009, of the Prime Minister, and this Decision: Shall be allocated from local budgets and integrated with other lawful sources of funds to implement.

4. Funding for management, monitoring, directing, inspecting, guiding, interim assessment, and final evaluation of the policy annually at localities shall be allocated from local budgets.

5. Extension of debt repayment period and risk handling for capital borrowed from the Social Policy Bank.

a) Extension of debt repayment period: In cases where the loan repayment deadline has arrived, and borrowing households still belong to poor households and have a need to continue using the loan capital, they may be handled based on actual circumstances:

- If the borrowing household still belongs to a poor household and temporarily faces financial difficulties without a source of repayment, they may be considered for extending the loan repayment period, but not exceeding a maximum of 2.5 years;

- If the borrowing household has escaped poverty according to the poverty standard, they must fulfill their loan repayment obligations. In cases where the borrowing household fails to fulfill their loan repayment obligations, an overdue interest rate of 130% of the lending interest rate shall be applied.

b) Risk handling: For households encountering risks due to natural disasters, fires, epidemics, or other unforeseeable difficulties that cannot repay their debts, risk handling shall be carried out according to Decision No. 50/2010/QĐ-TTg dated July 28, 2010, of the Prime Minister regarding the issuance of regulations on handling loans at risk at the Social Policy Bank.

Article 4. Sources of capital and implementation mechanisms

1. Sources of capital

a) Capital from the central government's targeted support for localities;

b) Capital from local budgets ensuring a minimum of 20% compared to the central government's budget and mobilizing additional lawful capital sources;

c) Borrowed capital: The central government ensures 50%, and the Social Policy Bank ensures the mobilization of 50% of the total borrowed capital;

d) Capital integrated from national target programs, other programs, and policies.

2. Implementation mechanisms

a) Localities facing budgetary difficulties and receiving supplementary balance transfers from the central government shall be supported to supplement the counterpart capital. Specifically, as follows: 20% for localities receiving supplementary transfers above 70%; 15% for localities receiving supplementary transfers between 50% and 70%; 10% for localities receiving supplementary transfers below 50% of the local budget expenditure plan for 2012;

b) After reviewing and consolidating the needs of localities, based on the availability of capital during the 2013-2015 period, the central government will inform localities about the annual and overall capital plans;

c) For borrowed capital from the Social Policy Bank, it shall be implemented in the form of the central government announcing the total borrowed capital according to the annual plan of the Social Policy Bank.

Article 5. Implementation

1. Regarding central ministries and sectors

a) The Committee for Ethnic Minority Affairs shall be responsible for:

- Taking the lead and directly directing localities to organize and implement this Decision;

- Taking the lead and coordinating with the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the Ministry of Finance, and relevant ministries and sectors to develop guidance documents for localities to implement;

- Directing localities to review and supplement the subjects covered by this Decision to organize implementation;

- Summarizing the demand for vocational training, employment resolution, and labor export for ethnic minority workers and poor households covered by this Decision;

- Taking the lead and coordinating with the Ministry of Planning and Investment and the Ministry of Finance to audit, consolidate the demands, and plans of localities to submit to the Prime Minister for approval;

- Monitoring, urging, inspecting, summarizing, and reporting on the implementation of the policy; conducting interim assessments, evaluations, and reporting to the Prime Minister;

b) The Ministry of Planning and Investment: Taking the lead and coordinating with the Committee for Ethnic Minority Affairs and the Ministry of Finance to consolidate the demands and forecast annual and overall capital for localities and the Social Policy Bank to submit to the competent authority for approval;

c) The Ministry of Finance: Taking the lead and coordinating with the Committee for Ethnic Minority Affairs and the Ministry of Planning and Investment to forecast central government support capital for local budgets; providing capital and subsidizing interest rate differences and management costs for the Social Policy Bank according to the annual and overall plans;

Taking the lead and coordinating with relevant ministries and sectors to develop guidance documents for preparing budgets, managing, disbursing, auditing, and settling accounts for state budget capital to implement the policy;

Guiding the management and use of recovered borrowed capital according to regulations, while supervising the management and use of borrowed capital by the Social Policy Bank system;

d) The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development: Taking the lead and coordinating with the Committee for Ethnic Minority Affairs and relevant ministries and sectors to direct and guide localities in implementing tasks such as forest management contracts, afforestation, and vocational training in agriculture and forestry for rural workers; allocating land production funds from programs and projects managed by the ministry for households lacking production land under this Decision;

đ) The Ministry of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs: Taking the lead and coordinating with the Committee for Ethnic Minority Affairs to direct and guide localities in implementing vocational training tasks to change professions and export labor for the subjects specified in this Decision;

e) Relevant ministries and sectors shall be responsible for coordinating in implementing the contents of the Decision according to their assigned functions and tasks;

Mobilizing the role of the Vietnam Fatherland Front and people's organizations to actively participate in effectively implementing the policies stipulated in this Decision;

2. Regarding the People's Committees of provinces and centrally governed cities

a) Shall be directly and fully responsible for organizing the implementation of the project according to the Decision.

b) Review, supplement beneficiaries, draft proposals to send to the National Ethnic Committee for preliminary review before approval;

c) Review, establish or adjust land use planning within their authority to create a land fund for poor households of ethnic minorities and households lacking residential and production land. Focus on directing the review and reorganization of agricultural and forestry farms under local management; resolutely reclaim land from inefficiently used agricultural and forestry farms to allocate to households specified in this Decision;

d) Entrust the ethnic affairs agency of the province to directly advise and assist the provincial People's Committee in directing and implementing this Decision;

đ) Prioritize integrating funds to implement main policy contents in the locality;

e) Direct specialized agencies to coordinate with the Social Policy Bank at the local level to promptly implement loans in accordance with regulations;

g) Report periodically every six months and annually on the implementation of this Decision to the National Ethnic Committee as prescribed;

Article 6. This Decision takes effect from the date of signing and replaces Decision No. 1592/QĐ-TTg dated October 12, 2009 of the Government Prime Minister;

Article 7. THE MINISTERS, HEADS OF GOVERNMENT-LEVEL MINISTRIES, HEADS OF GOVERNMENT-LEVEL AGENCIES, AND CHAIRMEN OF PROVINCE AND CITY PEOPLE'S COMMITTEES DIRECTLY UNDER THE CENTRAL GOVERNMENT SHALL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR ENFORCING THIS DECISION./.