More than 1,250 lawsuits filed by farmers in Ba Ria-Vung Tau province against Taiwanese MSG-maker Vedan Vietnam have been withdrawn after Vedan paid compensation to the farmers on Wednesday.
The lawsuits were filed to collect compensation for damage to farmland caused by the company's illegal discharge of untreated waste water into the Thi Vai River.
Nguyen Thanh Ngoc, the lawyer representing farmers in the province's Tan Thanh district, withdrew the lawsuits after Vedan paid 26.8 billion VND to 1,255 local farmers affected.
Tran Van Cuong, deputy head of the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said the company on August 17 transferred half of the total 53.6 billion VND (2.8 million USD) compensation for Tan Thanh district's farmers.
The company also paid 500 million VND (26,000 USD) to cover costs of calculating the losses by Tan Thanh district authorities.
Cuong said the provincial People's Committee would entrust Tan Thanh District authorities to draw up a list of names of farmers and the payment amounts. The disbursement would then be conducted within the next five days.
In addition, Vedan on August 17 transferred 22.9 billion VND to the bank accounts of farmers in HCM City's Can Gio district, the only area in the city affected by the pollution.
They also gave 500 million VND (26,000 USD) to Can Gio district authorities to cover the costs of calculating the losses.
In Dong Nai province, farmers have yet to agree on the amount of compensation and they continue to file lawsuits against Vedan with more than 4,000 applications.
Dong Nai provincial People's Committee has ordered the Department of Natural Resources and Environment to visit the affected areas to talk to farmers and calculate the amount of financial losses and measure the land area affected by the pollution./.
The lawsuits were filed to collect compensation for damage to farmland caused by the company's illegal discharge of untreated waste water into the Thi Vai River.
Nguyen Thanh Ngoc, the lawyer representing farmers in the province's Tan Thanh district, withdrew the lawsuits after Vedan paid 26.8 billion VND to 1,255 local farmers affected.
Tran Van Cuong, deputy head of the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said the company on August 17 transferred half of the total 53.6 billion VND (2.8 million USD) compensation for Tan Thanh district's farmers.
The company also paid 500 million VND (26,000 USD) to cover costs of calculating the losses by Tan Thanh district authorities.
Cuong said the provincial People's Committee would entrust Tan Thanh District authorities to draw up a list of names of farmers and the payment amounts. The disbursement would then be conducted within the next five days.
In addition, Vedan on August 17 transferred 22.9 billion VND to the bank accounts of farmers in HCM City's Can Gio district, the only area in the city affected by the pollution.
They also gave 500 million VND (26,000 USD) to Can Gio district authorities to cover the costs of calculating the losses.
In Dong Nai province, farmers have yet to agree on the amount of compensation and they continue to file lawsuits against Vedan with more than 4,000 applications.
Dong Nai provincial People's Committee has ordered the Department of Natural Resources and Environment to visit the affected areas to talk to farmers and calculate the amount of financial losses and measure the land area affected by the pollution./.
