Hanoi dialogues with locals to prevent garbage crisis
The city is committed to offering the best solutions for the people, but those solutions must be in compliance with the law, a Hanoi Party official has stated.
There is a thin line between sending a message by blocking the dumpsite entrance and violating the law, Vice Secretary of the Hanoi Party Committee Nguyen Van Phong has said, warning locals not to repeat such an act.
| Vice Secretary of the Hanoi Party Committee Nguyen Van Phong at the meeting. |
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Mr. Phong made the statement in a dialogue held on October 30 between leaders of the municipal Party Committee and local people in three communes of Hong Ky, Nam Son and Bac Son (Soc Son districts) who are struggling with environmental issues emanating from the Nam Son Waste Treatment Complex.
The issue is complicated, but could be resolved based on the rule of law, stated Mr. Phong, expecting the locals not to block again the entry of garbage trucks into the complex.
According to Mr. Phong, the local authorities are willing to listen to the people and discuss the matter with those that are not satisfied with the solutions.
One week ago, local people in Soc Son district impeded the entry of garbage trucks to Hanoi’s biggest landfill, causing thousands of tons of garbage piling up along the streets in the city. This is the 15th time this happened over recent years.
VnExpress cited Nguyen Van Thang, a local in Bac Son commune, as saying that his family has agreed to relocate but the compensation package proposed by local authorities is not sufficient for them to buy a land lot in the resettlement area.
Sharing Mr. Thang’s view, Nguyen Manh Hung in Nam Son commune pointed to a huge difference in the land compensation rate and the land price in resettlement areas, causing difficulties for the people subject to relocation.
Addressing these issues, Vice Chairman of the Hanoi People’s Committee Nguyen Quoc Hung said the local government has already been providing preferential treatment to the locals living in the surrounding areas of the Nam Son waste treatment complex, including free health insurance, higher compensation rate and investment in local infrastructure, among others.
Mr. Hung noted the city is committed to offering the best solutions for the people, but those solutions must comply with the law.
Mr. Hung instructed the municipal Department of Construction to work with Soc Son district in addressing environmental issues caused by the landfill.
The Nam Son Waste Treatment Complex, spanning over 157 hectares, was built in 1999 in Nam Son, Bac Son and Hong Ky communes. The complex handles around 5,000 of the 6,500 tons the city generates each day. The other 1,500 tons are treated at the Xuan Son landfill in Son Tay Town and other small waste treatment facilities.
