Deputies raised their concerns over land management and the environment at the National Assembly’s question and answer session on June 12.

Regarding a question from NA deputy Le Minh Tien from Quang Tri province on the use of land, Minister of Environment and Natural Resources Pham Khoi Nguyen confirmed that the ministry will take back any previously allocated land that is being left unused or used for wrong purporses.

The ministry will check up on land allocated to 145,000 organisations, who between them manage 7.8 million ha, he added.

The ministry will also complete a land inventory and assessment by the end of 2009, the minister said.

In response to deputies’ concerns about the mushrooming of golf-courses, Minister Nguyen proposed that the Government needs to complete an overall plan on the building of golf-courses and direct localities to stop licensing them pending the plan.

In his opinion, golf-courses should not be allowed to use land that could be used for tourist activities, agricultural cultivation, cultural and sports facilities.

He also suggested restricting golf-courses to no more than 100 ha.

According to Minister Nguyen and the Minister of Planning and Investment Vo Hong Phuc, 41 out of 63 provinces and cities have golf-course projects, of which, Hanoi and central Binh Thuan provinces have the most at 19.

Of 166 ongoing golf course projects, covering about 52,000 ha of land, 145 have been granted land and 84 have received investment certificates.

Nguyen also answered questions on industrial waste water during the operations of bauxite mining projects in the Central Highlands, assuring the deputies that any water will be treated and reused and will not affect the central and western regions in the south./.