Punish severely to set an example

On the afternoon of June 20, the National Assembly spent time discussing the draft Law on Water Resources (amended). The issue of water pollution and "rescuing" dead rivers received a lot of attention from National Assembly deputies.

37 cancer villages, 10 of which have polluted water

Delegate Trang A Duong ( Ha Giang ) said that to ensure national water security, it is necessary to focus on preventing, controlling, and restoring degraded, depleted, and polluted water sources. The draft law stipulates the responsibilities of a number of ministries, branches, and localities in protecting, preventing, and combating degradation, depletion, and pollution of water sources.

Regarding water resource restoration, many rivers and streams that are water sources for daily life, production, and ecological landscapes are now seriously polluted and depleted, and are called dead rivers. The National Assembly deputies affirmed that the restoration of dead rivers is extremely important and urgent.

The draft law supplementing regulations on water resource restoration is extremely necessary. The difficulty is that it requires a large amount of funding, of which the State budget is not able to allocate enough. Mr. Trang A Duong suggested that research be conducted to more clearly define the financial mechanism and policies for this activity, especially policies to attract capital for organizations and individuals participating in river restoration.

Delegate Nguyen Thi Ngoc Xuan ( Binh Duong ) shared that clean water is a special food and commodity that has a direct impact on people's health and all other essential activities. In Vietnam, the rate of households with access to tap water is currently only about 52%, in urban areas it is 84.2%, while in rural areas it is only 34.8%.

According to statistics from the Ministry of Health, Vietnam has 37 cancer villages, of which 10 are severely polluted with water, a very alarming number. The female delegate emphasized: "People have the right to access clean water and the Government is responsible for the people's need for clean water."

The State has plans and investment plans for the development and management of clean water supply systems for people, invests in inter-commune, inter-district, inter-provincial clean water supply systems and clean water supply systems for the entire region; and regulates the scope of responsibility for protecting water supply works for the community.

At the same time, she recommended regulating the responsibilities of clean water supply companies, especially compensation for damages to people.

The delegate cited that in Finland, water supply interruptions, water incidents and water risk management are determined by calculating the total number of water supply interruptions in a year. Users can claim compensation for a minimum of 2% of water supply costs if this exceeds 12 hours in a year.

Must retain water

Delegate Pham Van Hoa (Dong Thap) assessed that our country's natural water resources are on the decline and the environment is seriously polluted due to the impact of nature and humans. Therefore, he proposed to add investment policies for lakes and dams to store water, minimize the construction of hydroelectric dams, apply technology to recycle domestic water, rainwater, and convert seawater into fresh water.

In particular, delegate Hoa said that in recent times, there has been a general acceptance that water is abundant, endless, and that its use and exploitation will never end. Many places do not impose penalties, so people's awareness of compliance is very limited.

He said that strict measures should be taken to set an example and prevent acts of discharging untreated wastewater into the environment, destroying water due to the use of toxic chemicals in agricultural production, and indiscriminate exploitation of groundwater.

Further clarifying the necessity, Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Dang Quoc Khanh said that the Law on Water Resources (amended) must ensure full institutionalization of the Party's major policies on management, protection, and use of water resources and especially ensuring water security.

Many National Assembly members are very concerned about water security, especially in the period when climate change has a huge impact. The Minister cited the current water shortage in the northern mountainous provinces and the Mekong Delta.

"We must preserve water. Our country is a maritime nation, so it suffers from drought and water shortages in the dry season and floods in the rainy season. Therefore, regulating, managing and using water effectively is very important," the Minister emphasized.

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