A road connects hamlets in Phuc Ninh commune, Yen Son district, Tuyen Quang province (Photo: VNA)
Hanoi (VNA) – The national targetprogramme on new-style rural area building has given a facelift to rural areas overthe pat nearly decade, according to Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung.
Speaking at a meeting on the programme onJune 11, Dung said investments have been poured into essential infrastructureprojects in transport, irrigation, culture, health care and education.
He stressed that the programme has receivedthe warm response of the entire political system and people, adding that thanksto the joint efforts, the country has completed five goals set under theprogramme for 2016-2020, two years ahead of schedule.
Dung, however, pointed to shortcomings in thework like poor performance of certain regions and localities, large income gap,limited investments in agriculture and loose connectivity between farmers andbusinesses and cooperatives.
“Building new-style rural areas must beclosely linked with urbanisation, industrialisation and modernisation,” heemphasised.
Regarding the building of criteria fornew-style rural areas for the next five years, Dung said it must match thereality and resources of localities and regions.
Cooperatives and enterprises should be thedriving force in investment, workforce development, production and consumption,he said.
The Deputy PM assigned the Ministry ofAgriculture and Rural Development to soon complete procedures to submit thenational target programme on new-style rural area building for 2021-2025 to theNational Assembly for approval.
Statistics unveil that 5,177 communes or 58.2percent of the total nationwide have been recognised as new-style rural areas,and 127 out of the 664 districts in 45 cities and provinces have won the title.
Meanwhile, 45 districts in theremaining 21 cities and provinces have no communes qualified as new-stylerural areas, said Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development TranThanh Nam.
Currently, 19 criteria are usedto assess the development and improvement of communes in terms ofinfrastructure, irrigation, electricity, environment, income, education,healthcare, social security and culture.
Nine criteria are used to assessdistricts.
Deputy Minister Nam said thecriteria would be adjusted to increase decentralisation and increaseflexibility when assessing localities’ performance in building new-stylerural areas.
The changed criteria were alsoexpected to encourage disadvantaged communes/districts to continue seekingrecognition between 2021 and 2025./.
