More resources should be devoted to conducting surveys and accelerating the digitalisation of the land management system in order to gather accurate information and improve the government’s ability to manage and monitor the use of the country’s land funds, said Deputy Prime Minister Trần Hồng Hà during a cabinet meeting yesterday in Hà Nội.

He stressed the importance of addressing the current lack of accurate and reliable information, saying digitalisation is crucial in the establishment of an efficient system, which reduces complications and inconveniences for residents and businesses.

“Once completed, land with accurate and transparent registration information will be legally protected by the state,” said the Deputy PM.

More streamlined solutions are needed to simplify procedures for issuing certificates to land funds that have not been registered, reduce fees and set regulations for transactions.

“For plots of land being registered for the first time, any disputes (if any) must be resolved definitively by the law,” Hà said.

Local governments must be held responsible for land survey activities, issuance of certificates, structure management and information systems.

He added that it is necessary to integrate and inherit existing data to speed up the process while ensuring accuracy and compliance with current regulations.

He tasked the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MoNRE) to gather additional feedback from experts and businesses to complete a draft decree on land management and use by the end of this month.

According to MoNRE, the draft decree would help speed up administrative reforms, shifting the focus from relying on administrative tools to using economic tools in land management, promoting a more efficient and sustainable management approach.

The modernisation and digitalisation of the system, based on a unified and centralised data system, would bolster links between the central and local governments.

The decree aims to strengthen decentralisation and autonomy while giving more supervisory power to the National Assembly, the local People’s Councils and the Vietnam Fatherland Front.

Mai Văn Phấn, Director of the Department of Land Registration and Information Data under MoNRE said the decree will introduce new policies in land surveying, investigating, database building and registering.

“Once the decree is in effect, governmental agencies are not allowed to request extra documents that are not in the list of documents required,” he said.

During the meeting, officials discussed issues related to developing information systems and protocols to report changes to land uses and purposes, which fall under the local government’s authority and responsibilities. — VNS