Construction on the building commenced last year, and it was put into use early this year as a rest-stop, a restaurant and a lodging facility overlooking the Nho Que River. It was learned last week that the building is located on a plot of farmland that has not been converted for commercial service, that no construction permit has been issued to the private investor, and that the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has not been consulted with regarding the project developed on the pass recognized by the ministry as a national beauty site and thus a tangible natural heritage site.
Normally, such an illegal work must be torn down.
However, local authorities have managed to come to the illegal project’s rescue, as seen in local media.
Nguyen Cao Cuong, chairman of Meo Vac District, asserted in Tuoi Tre on Thursday that the project has not been issued a construction permit because it was developed on farmland that has not been converted for other purposes.
The district government has plans to submit a new planning scheme to higher authorities so that a new construction permit can be issued in due process, according to the district chairman. He furthered that provincial authorities have verbally approved such a scheme.
Such explanations show the grassroots authorities are seeking to legalize an illegal project, which will set a bad precedent for future developments. If the project is to be legalized post-construction despite numerous violations, more investors with the support of local authorities will readily develop new construction works without having to go through the required approval process. More natural heritage sites may be encroached here and there across the country, more spatial planning schemes may be breached, and the rule of law will be badly dented.
If the rule of law is to be safeguarded, wrongdoing must be corrected, and it falls within the responsibility of the provincial government to demolish the illegal construction work now. Don’t kick the can down the road.
