Nearly 200 households in northern Ninh Bình Province have been in serious danger of landslides and flash floods for years, with resettlement funds yet to materialise. — Photo baotainguyenmoitruong.vn

NINH BÌNH – Nearly 200 households in northern Ninh Bình Province have been in serious danger of landslides and flash floods for years, with resettlement funds yet to materialise.

In 2008, the households in Nho Quan and Gia Viễn districts got approval to be resettled due to the serious landslides and flash floods in the area.

In December 2012, the provincial People’s Committee revoked 435 square metres of land in Lạng Phong Commune and allocated more than 9,870 square metres of land to build two resettlement projects in Tràng An and Đồng An villages in Lạng Phong Commune.

Phạm Văn Lưu, chairman of the communal People’s Committee said that Tràng An and Đồng An villages were located near Nho Quan Dyke in Lạng River, so locals faced about three floods each year, forcing them to travel by boats.

These households had been living near the river for years, and needed to be resettled as landslides and flash floods occurred regularly, he said.

According to the 2008 decision, the project was supposed to be built with total investment of more than VNĐ274 billion (US$12 million).

In Đồng Đinh Village, by the end of 2016, some parts of the project such as drainage, a cultural house, kindergartens and health clinics had been partly built at a cost of more than VNĐ5.2 billion ($228,850).

However, due to a shortage of funds, the project has been delayed, with the resettlement area now abandoned. 

Lưu said to Dân trí online newspaper that households in Tràng An and Đồng Đinh villages have built houses themselves as they could not wait longer to be resettled.

He said that the committee was not the project investor, with the funds coming from the State budget.

It would inform local residents about the projects in case authorities allocated enough funds, he said. – VNS