Residents in Hà Nội's Sóc Sơn District study the draft compensation plan for households living around Nam Sơn landfill. — VNA/VNS Photo Mạnh Khánh

HÀ NỘI — The People’s Committee of Hà Nội’s Sóc Sơn District has published a draft compensation plan for households living around the Nam Sơn dump, the largest waste dump in the city.

Nguyễn Ngọc Oanh, vice chairman of the committee, said on Tuesday that the draft compensation plan was jointly created by the land fund development centre and the committee. It has been publicised to receive public opinion.

Under the plan, households living within 500 metres of the Nam Sơn Waste Treatment Complex, or Nam Sơn dumping site, would be eligible for compensation.

The compensation rate for cultivated land, including support for job conversion, would be VNĐ630,000 (US$26.20) per square metre. The compensation rate for ordinary rice would be VNĐ7,000 ($0.29) per square metre and that for sticky rice would be VNĐ10,000 ($0.41) per square metre.

Oanh said most local residents agreed with the compensation plan.

The committee will finalise the compensation plan by Saturday.

This month, about 300 affected households would be eligible to receive compensation in Nam Sơn, Hồng Kỳ and Bắc Sơn communes, he said.

To ensure accurate and fair compensation, the Sóc Sơn District People's Committee has assigned the Natural Resources and Environment Office to assess the origin of the land and the Finance Office to calculate the land price.

Affected people would receive the money after the committee approved their claim. They could buy land in the resettlement area or find new accommodation.

Specifically, residents in Nam Sơn Commune would be allocated to three resettlement areas, which were one kilometre, four kilometres and seven kilometres from the landfill, respectively.

Residents in Bắc Sơn Commune would be allocated to a resettlement area three kilometres from the landfill.

Residents in Hồng Kỳ Commune would be moved to an area 1.3 kilometres from the landfill.

The people’s committee estimated that 1,100 affected households of the three communes would receive compensation totalling about VNĐ4.3 trillion ($184.7 million).

On January 13, Vice chairman of Hà Nội’s People's Committee Nguyễn Thế Hùng assigned Sóc Sơn District’s People’s Committee to complete the compensation and resettlement plans for affected households before March 30.

Affected households must be given compensation from the second quarter of this year.

Nam Sơn dumping site was set up in 1999, covering an area of 83ha and receiving more than 4,000 tonnes of waste per day from four of Hà Nội’s inner districts.

The landfill has caused serious environmental pollution and severely affected local residents in three communes of Nam Sơn, Hồng Kỳ and Bắc Sơn. Recently, residents blocked garbage trucks from entering the dump as a protest against the landfill.

Following a series of discussions, city authorities decided to resettle affected households and pay compensation. — VNS