Bac Giang (VNA) – The northernprovince of Bac Giang is working to remove difficulties in the building ofnew-style rural areas in order to accelerate the pace of the work in thelocality, according to deputy director of the province’s department ofagriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Van Doanh.

Doanh, who is also chief of thecoordinating office of the new-style rural area building programme in BacGiang, said the province aims to have 25 more communes meet all criteria of newrural areas this year.

Towards the goal, district and cityPeople’s Committees will guide communes in speeding up the pace of constructionand paper work for infrastructure projects in their management. For localitiesthat have not designed detailed plans for investment disbursement or notdisbursed any allocated investment by June 30 this year, the provincialsteering board for new rural area building will ask the provincial People’sCommittee to redirect investment to other localities.

District and city People’sCommittee will pay more attention to the criterion on environment, particularlythe collection and treatment of waste, and campaigns mobilizing localcommunities to engage in clean-up activities. Communes that have already metall criteria for new rural areas will build plans and roadmaps to implementcriteria for model rural areas to 2020. The province aims to have nine pilotvillages in building model rural areas earn recognition before September 30this year.

Lang Giang district is instructedto build plans to pilot the implementation of criteria for a model ruraldistrict while pushing forward the building of model rural areas in itscommunes, towards the goal of earning recognition as a new rural district thisyear. Tan Yen district is required to devise specific tasks in order to completeall criteria for new rural district by 2020.

Vice Chairman of the provincialPeople’s Committee Duong Van Thai requested that districts and cities shouldfocus more attention on new rural area building in the remaining months of theyear in order to fulfil the yearly goal in this realm. The 25 communes registeringto become new rural areas this year are working hard on unfulfilled criteria.

Thai noted that efforts shouldbe focused on developing production and raising local incomes as this is thecore criterion. Besides, the allocation of resources should also be accelerated.

In the first five months of thisyear, four communes in Bac Giang completed all criteria for new-style rural areasand are waiting for approval, which are Nha Nam and Ngoc Van in Tan Yendistrict, Bac Ly in Hiep Hoa district, and Bo Ha in Yen The district.

Lang Giang district hasfulfilled five out of the nine criteria for new-style rural district.

District authorities continue toprovide assistance to communes registering to reach the goal of becomingnew-style rural areas this year. Lang Giang district has given each commune 3billion VND (over 128,420 USD) and cement to each commune to build roads andcultural houses for hamlets. Luc Nam district granted each commune 2.5 billion VNDwhile Luc Ngan district allocated 12.5 billion VND in total for the purpose. Theremaining districts support each commune with 1 – 2 billion VND.

So far localities in Bac Giangprovince have built 48.5 km of roads, 60 cultural houses of communes and hamlets,15 sport facilities, 25 waste collection points, 45 cemeteries, 25 classroomsand three water supply facilities, and concretised nearly 8 km of in-fieldcanals.

The NationalTarget Programme on New-style Rural Area Building, initiated by the Governmentin 2010, sets 19 criteria on socio-economic development, politics, and defence,aiming to boost rural regions of Vietnam. 

The number of criteria was increased to 20 in 2015.   

The list of criteria includes the development ofinfrastructure, the improvement of production capacity, environmentalprotection, and the promotion of cultural values.-VNA