Land clearance a tough nut to crack
15-06-2012
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Why have firms specialising in land acquisition and compensation found it hard to handle their tasks?
In reality, site clearance is the hardest nut to crack when expediting a project. To get it through, the target of balancing state, firms using land and relevant people interests must be achieved. Getting consent from people losing land is most important.
Convincing such people is the function and task of entire political system in localities.
These firms may not be strong in convincing, but they have financial capacity. Site clearance will not be a hurdle once the interests of relevant people are met in a satisfactory manner. Is this correct?
Let’s look at the following case. In 2011, Hanoi authorities hooked into acquiring a ‘golden land space’ at 22-24 Hang Bai Street in the city’s downtown. When most households (15/17) accepted compensation, two remaining households claimed exorbitantly high compensation rate of VND1 billion ($47,600) per square metre. If firm accepted such rate, the first 15 households would demand the same and the case would never end.
Sometimes, some households in an affected area refused to remove at any cost either.
What is the best cure in such cases?
The government or local governments should ensure equitable and legitimate interests of people with reclaimed land. Coercive measures should be applied to disobedient ones in case persuasion did not work. Under the current law, only district-level people’s committees get the right to come up with coercive measures.
Decree 69/2009/ND-CP allowed district-level compensation, support and resettlement committee to hire firms to help them settle site clearance and compensation woes. Is that the case?
People would sacrifice their personal interests for common ones but not for the interests of any individuals or organisations. If the government directly engages in taking back land for a socio-economic development cause, people will willingly follow.
In fact, after almost three years Decree 69 came into force there are not any specialised businesses tasked with compensation, support and resettlement when the state reclaims land to expand land funds.
What model would be best for site clearance in your view?
Most municipalities and provinces have established specialised bodies to develop a land fund which operate as income-raising administrative units.
In Hanoi alone, two city-level and 13 district-level land fund development organisations are currently up and running. This model not only meets current requirements but also envisages providing land fund to the realty market in the future
