Agricultural organizations say authorities have allowed pollution from a Taiwanese-owned company to destroy a local river without forcing the firm to pay compensation to local farmers.

Inspectors discovered last September that the Dong Nai-based monosodium glutamate maker had been releasing toxic, untreated wastewater directly in to the river for more than 16 years.

But not until this July did the Vietnam Environment Administration order the Ho Chi Minh City-based National University’s Natural Resources and Environment Institute to report on the economic and environmental effects caused by Vedan’s doings as proposed by the Vietnam Farmers Associations.

Vedan postponed paying farmers compensation because the central government was not paying attention to the suffering of the farmers and had issued no specific instructions about the reparations, said Nguyen Van Thong, chairman of the Ba Ria – Vung Tau Province’s Farmers Association.

The Vietnam Farmers Association then stepped in but didn’t make considerable moves until May when it proposed that the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MNRE) support the farmers, Thong said.

According to Thanh Nien source, the National University’s environmental institute will report the losses to related agencies and authorities in HCMC, Dong Nai and Ba Ria - Vung Tau this Monday.

The report will be made public after a meeting of the Vietnam Environment Administration’s expected next Saturday.

Once the damages are announced, Vedan, which has recently paid off VND127.2 billion (US$6.95 million) in late environmental protection fees, should be forced to pay compensation to the farmers, said lawyer Nguyen Van Hau, who represents HCMC farmers.

“If Vedan fails to do so, the HCMC Farmers Association will sue it,” Hau stressed.

In the meantime, Vedan Vietnam representative Yeh Sheau Yeh told Thanh Nien on Friday that if the estimated losses were too large, the company would ask for a second opinion on the damages.

In August, Vedan refused to pay the VND659 billion (over $37 million) in compensation requested by the farmers’ associations.

Reported by Hoang Tuan