Under the gentle sunlight of a late afternoon at the end of the year, together with leaders and representatives of Bãi Màu village (Thanh Yên commune), we “witnessed firsthand” the alluvial crop land area located along the riverbank, subject to the impact of the Nậm Rốm River Basin Multi-Hazard Management Project. The crop fields growing beans and peanuts, which have been attached to the people’s lives for many years, are now facing a major change, but what is easily noticeable is the consensus and trust of local people in the State’s guidelines.

Standing on the family’s alluvial crop land area, Nguyễn Duy Bậc, a resident of Bãi Màu village, said that previously this area frequently suffered from landslides, especially during the rainy and flood season. The whole village had nearly 16ha of alluvial crop land, but after many years of river erosion, now only about 10ha remains. Not only losing land, but people also faced a serious shortage of irrigation water; production depended entirely on the weather, so income was precarious. Therefore, when commune and village officials propagated, mobilized, and clearly analyzed the long-term benefits of the Nậm Rốm River Basin Multi-Hazard Management Project in contributing to limiting landslides, stabilizing flow, improving water sources, and protecting production land funds and sustainable livelihoods for people, Nguyễn Duy Bậc’s family agreed immediately.

Nguyễn Duy Bậc expressed: “My family has nearly 2,000m2 of riverside cultivation land affected by the project. However, when hearing the full explanation, we saw this is a correct guideline; for the common interest, my family fully complies and agrees to hand over the site for units to construct the work”.

In the process of deploying the Nậm Rốm River Basin Multi-Hazard Management Project, the work of disseminating and mobilizing people to hand over the site plays a key role. With the specific characteristic of being a riverside alluvial area, the life and production of Bãi Màu village people have long been closely tied to the Nậm Rốm flow, so creating consensus was not an easy task. With a spirit of responsibility, the village leadership board persistently mobilized and listened to the thoughts and aspirations of each household. Thanks to that, many families agreed with the compensation plan to implement the project.

Quản Bá Mười, Head of the Front Work Committee of Bãi Màu village, shared that the Nậm Rốm River Basin Multi-Hazard Management Project affects nearly 3ha of people’s alluvial crop land. Initially, disseminating and mobilizing people to hand over the site to implement the project encountered many difficulties because the cultivation land area was already limited and now continues to be affected. The village leadership board coordinated closely with the Party committee, authorities, and mass organizations to organize many meetings, disseminating and clearly explaining the goal, meaning, as well as long-term benefits of the project. Therefore, people actively handed over the site, contributing importantly to deploying the project on schedule.

Implementing the policy of the provincial People’s Committee regarding site clearance work to deploy key projects, recently Thanh Yên commune has recorded the positive contribution and high sense of responsibility of a large number of people. With the motto “people know, people discuss, people do, people benefit,” the Party committee and authorities of Thanh Yên commune focused on promoting dissemination and mobilization work; thanks to that, many households soon agreed with the State’s guidelines, proactively coordinated in the process of inventory, dismantling structures, and handing over the site within the prescribed time, contributing importantly to ensuring construction progress.

Constructing the Project on Transport Roads connecting key economic areas along National Highway 279 and National Highway 12, the household of Trần Thị Duyên (Nôm village), along with many households in Noong Vai village, are families with land and assets directly affected. Site clearance more or less affects the family’s daily life and production, but when clearly explained by local authorities about the common benefits of the project for the community and the long-term development of the locality, Trần Thị Duyên’s family voluntarily complied, dismantled architectural structures, and handed over the site to local authorities.

“The road building project is to serve people traveling favorably and developing the economy better. Despite immediate difficulties, my family is still ready to coordinate with the authorities and hand over the site according to regulations,” Trần Thị Duyên expressed.

The exemplary and responsible spirit of households created a positive spread in the community, contributing to removing initial difficulties in site clearance work. Thanks to that consensus, construction units have conditions to soon deploy items, accelerate project implementation progress, and step-by-step complete the infrastructure system, serving people’s livelihood better.

Nguyễn Gia Tuấn, Vice Chairman of Thanh Yên commune People’s Committee, affirmed: “The leadership of the commune People’s Committee respectfully acknowledges and highly appreciates the contribution of households that took the lead in clearing and handing over the site. These are bright examples, demonstrating a sense of responsibility for the common interest of the community, contributing importantly to the movement of building new rural areas and developing local infrastructure.”

Besides the achieved results, in reality, there are still some households that have not truly cooperated or agreed on handing over the site. Thanh Yên commune People’s Committee has strengthened dissemination, mobilization, direct dialogue, and clear explanation of compensation and support guidelines and policies in accordance with regulations, aiming to create the highest consensus aHmông the people.

In the coming time, Thanh Yên commune People’s Committee will continue to call on the remaining households to uphold the spirit of solidarity, accompany local authorities, and soon hand over the site so that projects can be deployed on schedule, bringing practical, long-term benefits to the community and the sustainable development of the locality.