VietNamNet Bridge - Hanoi approved yesterday key resolutions to help the expanded capital city overcome difficulties and fulfil its next year’s planned socio-economic targets at its People’s Council meeting.

Vice Chairman of the Hanoi People’s Committee Vu Hong Khanh spoke at the meeting.

The four-day Council’s 17th meeting of the 13th term, which concluded Friday with the attendance of Political Bureau member and Secretary of Ha Noi Party Committee Pham Quang Nghi, authorised 17 resolutions to unify the expanded capital city’s basic regulations and policies.

Policies

They are on socio-economic plan; forecast and allocation of the city’s budget; total number of civil servants; land prices for next year; rural electricity projects; cultural villas management; setting administrative borders of three districts and four communes which are newly merged into the city; and proposal on establishing Ha Dong District (formerly the capital city of Ha Tay Province) and converting Son Tay City into town.

The resolutions, which will be applied from next month, focused on the implementation and management of three major tasks: continuing the effective deployment and performance of the government’s Resolution 15 on the city’s administrative border expansion; focusing on overcoming difficulties and natural disasters, boosting production and business, continuing economic growth, effectively applying resolutions on curbing inflation, and guaranteeing social security and anti-economic downturn; and carrying out the preparations for the Thang Long-Ha Noi 1,000 year anniversary.

The City People’s Committee Chairman, Nguyen The Thao, promised to seriously deploy and implement the 2009 socio-economic targets through effective programmes, and clear task assignment.

The city plans to increase its personnel power to better manage the organisation and clean-up of the city next year. The city’s top priority ahead is securing a safe and enjoyable Tet (lunar New Year) holiday for people, especially the poor and disadvantaged.

Food safety

Earlier in the question-and- answer session on Thursday, cooking safety security was the top issue ahead of environ-mental pollution and social-isation in education and health care.

Participants were not satisfied with the city’s six solutions on managing the food safety security and raised questions on when the city residents would feel secured with safe foodstuff. The city’s leaders admitted to their weak management in ensuring safe food.

There are only 41 clean slaughter-houses, 70 super-markets and shops selling safe meat, a mere one eighth whole-sale markets supplying safe vegetables, and 2,600 of 114,000ha of land offer safe green cultivation.

One of the reasons for the ineffective management and punishment of violators in the field is there is no law on safety food in Viet Nam, according to Director of Ha Noi’s Healthcare Department Le Anh Tuan.

Environmental protection was also urged at the session.

The city People’s Committee deputy chairman Vu Hong Khanh admitted that most of Ha Noi rivers and lakes were seriously polluted.

“To stamp out this problem, the two key factors needed are financial support and awareness of the public in protecting the environment,” said Khanh. “To decrease the city’s river and lake water pollution by 10 per cent, we need VND1.1 trillion a year, excluding VND100 billion for maintenance.”

The city will experiment its dealing with the water pollution plan next year starting with Van and Van Chuong lakes. The plan is expected to be carried out all over the city’s rivers and lakes in 2010 after the experiment.

The city will also tackle the environmental pollution in industrial areas and craft villages next year.

Pollution levels

“The seven most polluted production areas will be dealt with next year and more in 2010,” said Khanh.

The pollution level will be sorted out in 1,000 craft villages to decide which ones are to be relocated and which ones are to be changed into other functions.

The Natural Resources and Environment Department is evaluating the environmental pollution in Ha Noi and solutions to the problem.

In the socialisation of education and health care, participants raised questions mainly on problems mentioned above.

Khanh called on the public to support the city authorities with protecting the environment before the city creates an actual resolution.

(Source: VNS)