MOIT steadfastly takes side with hydropower plants

 The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT), in the document answering Quang Nam people’s question about the responsibility of hydropower plants, said it is unreasonable to claim for the damages caused by the floods.

MOIT denies hydropower plants’ responsibility

The ministry has affirmed that the operation of the water reservoirs on the Vu Gia – Thu Bon river network has brought active effects, emphasizing the important role of the reservoirs in helping ease the floods in the lowlands.

To date, there has been no official complaint that the hydropower reservoir operators did not properly follow the approved procedure on the reservoir operation.

Therefore, it came to a conclusion that it is unreasonable to ask the hydropower plants’ investors to compensate the people who suffered from the floods.

The reports by the Quang Nam provincial Industry and Trade Department and by the hydropower plants’ owners all showed that the operation of the water reservoirs strictly followed the set procedures, which did not cause floods to the lower course.

Especially, the reservoirs helped ease the floods caused by the heavy rains, even though the reservoirs were not designed to help control floods.

The strong typhoons and the tropical low pressure causing heavy rains in the central region and Central Highlands on November 14-16, 2013, then caused heavy damages to the areas, including Quang Nam province.

The historic floods in 2013 caused heavy damages to Quang Nam province, where five people were killed, more than 77,000 houses were inundated, 150 hectares of rice field and 1,045 hectares of crops were damaged, 935 heads of cattle and 23,750 heads of poultry were swept away.

Quang Nam people believed that hydropower plants need to be responsible for the heavy damages and that they have to compensate the people because their unreasonable water discharging made the floods’ consequences more serious.

Le Muon, Deputy Director of the Quang Nam provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said the water discharge from hydropower reservoirs has always been the culprit causing big floods to the lower course.

Meanwhile, Chair of the Quang Nam province People’s Council Nguyen Van Sy stated: “Hydropower plants must compensate local people because they caused such serious consequences.”

MOIT many times defends hydropower plants

The MOIT’s decision that hydropower plants do not have to compensate for the damages has raised anger among Quang Nam officials and people.

They said that this is not the first time MOIT denies the hydropower plants’ responsibility.

Prior to that, in December 2013, Quang Nam people reported to President Truong Tan Sang when he visited the province that the unreasonable water discharge made local people suffer.

At the meeting, the local authorities asked for the intervention from concerned agencies to force the hydropower plants’ owners to compensate people for the damages they caused.

According to the Central Committee for Storm and Flood Prevention, typhoons and floods caused the death toll of more than 260 people, injured 800, and damaged 12,000 houses and 300,000 hectares of rice and crops.

In the central region, 15 hydropower plants in the central region discharged water on the same day of November 16.

Chi Mai, Vietnamnet