Illegal wharves threaten environment Municipal officials are calling for punishment for those running illegal wharves that have been operating along rivers and canals in the city for a long time despite orders to shut down.   According to the officials, there are 46 wharves illegally operating along rivers or canals in districts 2, 8, 9 as well as Nha Be and Can Gio districts, 31 of which are large ones with areas covering thousands of square metres.- Photo vovgiaothong According to the officials, there are 46 wharves illegally operating along rivers or canals in districts 2, 8, 9 as well as Nha Be and Can Gio districts, 31 of which are large ones with areas covering thousands of square metres. On some river and canal sections, the number of illegal wharves are dense, posing threats to the local environment, the officials say. For example, there are three illegal wharves operating on Chiem canal in Nha Be District, two on Nuoc Len canal in District 8, up to 11 along Cho Dem – Ben Luc River and eight on Sai Gon and Soai Rap rivers. Nguyen Bat Han, deputy chief, Inspection Division at the HCM City Transport Department, said that last month authorities had suspended 31 illegal large wharves that affected bridges or violated waterway safety regulations. These included some set up in the safety corridor of Chanh Hung and Ta Quang Buu bridges in District 8 and the Cho Dem bridge in Binh Chanh District, he said. He said the loading of sand at these wharves clogged up those sections of rivers or canals, changing the flow of rivers, causing landslides and affecting waterway transportation. Han said many businesses were misusing business certificates granted by district administrations or the municipal Department of Planning and Investment. While the certificates have to do with business done on land, the firms set up illegal wharves along the rivers or canals for loading and transporting goods, he stressed. Many businesses have been asked to suspend operations of their illegal wharves, but they have ignored local authorities' orders, he added. The Phu My Join-Stock Company, for instance, had set up an illegal wharf on the Sai Gon River in District 2, and had been asked by the HCM City Department of Transport as well as the district administration to stop operations and vacate 60,000 square metres of land before March 10, 2013. But the inspection team found that the wharf is still in operation, Han said. Ngo Duy Quang, director of the HCM City Domestic Waterway Department, said that last year, they had organised a month-long inspection of illegal wharves in the city, following which many were asked to suspend operations. These wharves were placed under the management of ward administrations However, only one illegal wharf has stopped operations to date, he said. Quang said that this year, the inspection team decided that all the illegal wharves would be transferred to district administrations. He said part of the violations were caused by delays in local administrations drawing up zoning plans that would allow for wharves to be established in safer areas. The operations of wharves according to standards set by authorities would make them more expensive to establish and maintain, and businesses were cutting costs by ignoring regulations, some experts said. Han attributed the troublesome situation to scant regulations. He said many illegal wharves were still operating although they had been fined because the relevant decree (60/2011/ND-CP) sets the maximum penalty that can be levied at VND2-3 million (US$95-142). There is no legal provision for forcing the businesses to shut down the illegal wharves, he said. To cope with the problem, the Inspection Division under the Department of Transport has suggested that the Department of Planning and Investment and district administrations revoke the business licenses of those firms that have established the illegal wharves.- VNS