Lê Văn Bình, Deputy Head of the Land Department of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, spoke about the draft land law (amended), which prioritises reclaiming land funds from organisations that use them ineffectively and returning them to local authorities for more efficient management and distribution to local residents.
Could you clarify what specific provisions in the draft amended Land Law were discussed at the 6th Session of the 15th National Assembly regarding land policy for ethnic minority communities?
In the proposed amendments to the Land Law, there are clear provisions regarding land policies for ethnic minority communities. However, some of these provisions still lack the specific details needed to effectively implement these policies. To address this, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment has been working with the Economic Committee and the Council for Ethnic Minorities of the National Assembly to improve and refine the provisions related to land allocation for ethnic minorities.
Within these proposed amendments, there are significant changes to the state policy on land for ethnic minority communities. These changes include the initial allocation of land and assistance to ethnic minorities who are landless or have insufficient land.
The draft law outlines the responsibilities of various authorities at the commune, provincial and central levels, while also clearly defining the resources required for the successful implementation of these policies. Notably, the draft law introduces additional provisions to deter violations of the land policy in relation to ethnic minorities. These provisions aim to prevent actions such as the unauthorised transfer of land use rights, particularly in cases where ethnic minorities receive land assistance but are not allowed to transfer these rights.
The overall aim of these provisions is to protect and preserve land resources for ethnic minorities.
In addition, the draft law introduces provisions empowering the state to reclaim land for the purpose of establishing land funds for ethnic groups.
The law provides detailed guidance on land use planning, emphasising the importance of district-level land use plans in identifying land reserves for the implementation of ethnic minority land policies. These provisions must be incorporated into annual land use plans.
Who are the specific targets outlined in the draft law on land reclamation and allocation to support the development and production of ethnic minority communities to ensure the effective implementation of this policy?
At the moment, almost all our land has owners. If we want to create a land fund for allocation to ethnic minorities, it is necessary to reclaim land from organisations and companies that are currently using it.
In the coming period, the legal framework on land will primarily target organisations that use land inefficiently or wastefully, including public institutions. In particular, the government will review, allocate, reorganise and plan to allocate land used inefficiently by agricultural and forestry companies to ethnic minority groups.
Any land that has been encroached upon, rented or leased by companies or enterprises in violation of the law must also be identified and returned.
Following these guidelines, the provincial People’s Committees will evaluate and approve the plan. Based on the land returned to the community, the district people’s committees will administer the allocation to ethnic minority communities, taking into account both residential and agricultural land needs.
In addition to provisions to safeguard the land reserve, Resolution 18-NQ/TW on land policy also emphasised the need for preferential policies for ethnic minorities. So how has the current draft of the amended Land Law specified these requirements?
At present, the law has clear provisions for ethnic minority communities to be granted land for residential purposes, primarily within certain limits, with associated reductions in land use fees. In cases where ethnic minorities lose their residential land or face land scarcity, they are given the opportunity to convert land from agricultural or other categories to residential use, provided that this is in line with land use planning.
This conversion of land to residential use in accordance with the land use plan also entitles ethnic minority persons to reduced land use fees.
In addition, if ethnic minority communities need non-agricultural land, the government will allocate land for their use and grant them land use fee reductions.
Now that the draft Land Law (Amended) has been approved by the National Assembly, what steps need to be taken by the government and relevant ministries, departments and local authorities to ensure that the provisions of the Land Policy for Ethnic Minorities are quickly put into practice?
First, the government needs to develop detailed regulations to guide the implementation of the law. These regulations should include specific provisions on the allocation of residential and agricultural land for ethnic minorities, taking into account local conditions to ensure consistency with the Land Law in force.
In order to ensure that all levels, sectors, localities and citizens are well informed about the legal provisions, both central and local authorities need to intensify their efforts to disseminate and educate people about the law. This should target both administrative bodies and the general public.
Effective monitoring of the implementation of the law is crucial. The National Assembly, People’s Councils at all levels, the Việt Nam Fatherland Front and the public have the right to monitor the allocation of residential and agricultural land to ethnic minority communities to ensure the most effective implementation.
Finally, central and local authorities should allocate resources to sustainably review and allocate land reserves to support ethnic minority communities.
The successful completion of these tasks will help to ensure that ethnic minority groups living in remote and mountainous regions can lead stable lives and have the necessary conditions for socio-economic development, ultimately contributing to sustainable poverty reduction.