In the document sent to the provincial People’s Committee, theministry said the Mang Lung – Dak Lay road project to the Ngoc Linh ginsengdevelopment area was not eligible for appraisal.
In March 2020, the provincial People’s Committee asked theministry to seek the Government’s permission to change the land use purpose of26.5 hectares of natural forest to build the road in Nam Tra My district.
The road was part of a project on the conservation and developmentof Ngoc Linh ginseng approved by the Government in 2015.
In reply to the province’s proposal, the ministry said theprovince’s submitted documents had not been updated according to the size ofthe project area, which increased by 8.9 hectares.
The project’s environmental impact assessment report, approved bythe provincial People’s Committee in 2017, had a land use of 17.6 hectaresinstead of 26.5 hectares.
Meanwhile, in the appraisal report in 2015 of the provincialDepartment of Planning and Investment, the land use area was only six hectares.
The ministry said the report in 2020 and the provincial People’sCommittee project files were submitted more than 17 months ago.
All the reports were no longer suitable for land use planning forthe 2021-2030 period.
The ministry said the legal basis for appraising the project’sapplication for change of land use purpose has changed.
It asked the People’s Committee of Quang Nam province to reviewand complete the dossier and re-implement the procedures for submitting theproposal on changing land use purposes to comply with the law.
It added that the Government had not yet approved the project’sproposal to change the land use purpose for its road construction.
According to the provincial committee’s reports, among 26.5hectares of forest proposed to change its use purpose, 15.65 hectares ofnatural forest belong to the strictly protected subdivision of Ngoc Linh NatureReserve.
Under the Government’s Decree 83, projects must not be located inthe strictly protected sub-zone of special-use forests.
The ministry has asked the committee to study and review thearea’s location that needs to be converted to ensure compliance with provisionsof the forestry and related laws./.
VNA