Strengthening the handling of violations within the protected areas of hydraulic structures in Vietnam

Strengthening the handling of violations within the protected areas of hydraulic structures in Vietnam(Image from the Internet)

Regarding this matter, LawNet provides the following answer:

On March 29, 2024, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Vietnam issued Official Dispatch 2271/BNN-TL on strengthening the handling of violations within the protected areas of hydraulic structures, which was sent to the People's Committees of centrally-run provinces and cities.

Strengthening the handling of violations within the protected areas of hydraulic structures in Vietnam

According to Official Dispatch 2271/BNN-TL in 2024, to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of state management and law enforcement in managing and handling violations within the protected areas of hydraulic structures, ensuring water quality for agricultural production, and ensuring the safety of hydraulic works, especially during the rainy and flood season of 2024, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Vietnam requests the People’s Committees of provinces and cities to intensify the implementation of solutions to handle violations within the protected areas of hydraulic structures as follows:

- Continue organizing the statistics and classification of violations within the protected areas of hydraulic structures, detailing the nature, extent, causes, direction for handling, and proposing authorities to review and decide on handling measures.

- Direct the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to coordinate with provincial departments and authorities to develop and submit to the provincial People’s Committee for issuance of a Regulation on coordination and handling of violations related to hydraulic works in the area. This includes specific provisions on the handling process, responsibilities of the relevant departments, branches, People’s Committees at all levels, and hydraulic works exploitation units as follows:

+ Responsibility for inspection, detection, and recommendation for handling violations:

The hydraulic works exploitation unit is responsible for inspection, detection, immediate preventive measures, and recommendation for handling acts violating the law within the protected areas of hydraulic structures (point c, clause 2 of Article 42; clause 11 of Article 54 of the Law on Hydraulic Works 2017 and clause 4 of Article 157 of the Land Law 2013; clause 5 of Article 56 of Decree 43/2014/ND-CP detailing certain articles and clauses of the Land Law 2013).

+ Responsibility for handling violations:

++ The communal People’s Committees are responsible for handling recommendations from the hydraulic works exploitation unit regarding violations within the protected areas of hydraulic structures (clause 5 of Article 56 of Decree 43/2014/ND-CP); preventing and handling violations of the law on hydraulic works (point h, clause 3 of Article 57 of the Law on Hydraulic Works 2017); promptly detecting and handling cases of encroachment, unauthorized use of land within the protective corridor; promptly preventing unauthorized construction within the safety corridor; compelling violators to restore the land to its pre-violation condition (point a, clause 6 of Article 56 of Decree 43/2014/ND-CP); if beyond sanctioning authority, reports should be compiled for the district People’s Committee to impose penalties in accordance with Decree 03/2022/ND-CP on administrative penalties in the fields of natural disaster prevention and control, hydraulic works, and dike management and Decree 91/2019/ND-CP on administrative penalties in the field of land, as amended and supplemented by Decree 04/2022/ND-CP).

++ The district People’s Committees are responsible for handling recommendations from relevant agencies, the hydraulic works exploitation unit, and the communal People’s Committees within the legal time frame. If beyond sanctioning authority, the district People’s Committees should compile reports for the provincial People’s Committee chairperson to impose penalties in accordance with the law on administrative penalties (the Law on Handling Administrative Violations 2012, Decree 03/2022/ND-CP, Decree 91/2019/ND-CP on administrative penalties in the field of land, as amended and supplemented by Decree 04/2022/ND-CP); land laws (clause 5 of Article 157 of the Land Law 2013, point a, clause 6 of Article 56 of Decree 43/2014/ND-CP); hydraulic works laws (point h, clause 2 of Article 57 of the Law on Hydraulic Works 2017).

++ The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development directs the hydraulic works exploitation unit to report on the situation and results of handling violations. If violations are not handled within the legal time frame, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development is responsible for urging the district People’s Committees and recommending the provincial People’s Committees to handle in accordance with regulations.

See more at Official Dispatch 2271/BNN-TL issued on March 29, 2024

To Quoc Trinh

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