NA begins two-day questioning of ministers

HA NOI – During the National Assembly's two-day questioning session, which opened today, Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Nguyen Minh Quang acknowledged that recent land disputes had provided the ministry with "valuable lessons" to better work out ways to protect residents' interests when it came to land seizures.

Quang was the first minister to be questioned, ahead of the ministers of investment and planning, public security, industry and trade and Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.

According to Head of the Government Inspectorate Huynh Phong Tranh, lawsuits and complaints relating to land accounted for 79 per cent of all disputes up to September 2011, with most centred on compensation, land seizures and clearance procedures for socio-economic development projects and land leasing.

By May this year, there were at least 500 unresolved land-dispute cases.

Quang said recent land disputes chiefly involved compensation levels and procedures for relocating residents to stabilise their lives.

The ministry pledged to finalise the issuance of land ownership rights to all residents by 2013.

Minister of Investment and Planning Bui Quang Vinh is due to answer deputies' questions this afternoon. – VNS