VietNamNet Bridge – Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai has asked every province in the country to finish issuing the majority of their certificates on land-use rights, known as ‘red books' in Viet Nam, by the end of the year.

Land survey workers help residents to register for land-rights certificates in HCM City's District 3. The majority of them are expected to be completed by the end of this year.

Hai made the request at a meeting on Friday to review the progress of granting land-use rights certificates held in Ha Noi.

According to a report by the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment, over 1.36 million certificates of land-use rights were granted to eligible applicants during the first half of 2013, which raised the total number of certificates granted to approximately 36 million.

The documents cover 20 million hectares of land across the country, accounting for 83 per cent of total land that need to be certified.

So far, 11 provinces, including Binh Duong, Quang Tri, Can Tho, have almost finished granting of land-use right certificates, while many others have completed less than 70 per cent of their areas.

Around 4.2 million certificates have been granted in urban areas, meeting 80 per cent of the requirements, while 11.5 million certificates have been granted in rural areas, with an 85 per cent completion rate so far.

Hai said that more hard work was needed to ensure that all certificates were issued by the end of the year.

He added that the main reason for the delay was a backlog in 18 localities, saying that they need to take drastic steps to address the issue.

These localities should regard the issue as a key task that needs completed as soon as possible, he said.

Hai also requested the relevant agencies to deal strictly with violations of the Land Law such as the illegal construction of buildings or the encroachment on public land.

Violations of the Land Law so far amount to 125,000 cases in Ha Noi and 130,000 cases in HCM City.

Source: VNS