Digital transformation for land is still slow

As of May 2024, Van Ban District (Lao Cai) has nearly 3,500 plots of land that have not been granted red books. According to Mr. Nguyen Huy Viet, Head of the District's Department of Natural Resources and Environment, the cause of this situation comes from the loss of land records and complaints and disputes between households after re-measuring the land.

Previously, to standardize the records, local leaders assigned the company to re-measure the land use area of ​​households. The entire process of this unit was done manually. According to people's feedback, the data on land area, boundaries, etc. provided by this company had many errors. Some households also reported the loss of red books after submitting them to the district for standardization.

The case of Van Ban district reflects the weaknesses of land data management using old methods and slow innovation. However, this is not the only locality facing this problem.

According to Mr. Bui Quang Toan, Director of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of Hoa Binh province, the locality has not yet completed the task of digitizing land data. The reason for this situation is due to shortcomings in the work of measuring and building a cadastral database...

However, even in districts that have applied land data digitization such as Tan Lac and Yen Thuy (Hoa Binh), the situation is not better. In Tan Lac district, the land management software has errors so it cannot update and edit data.

As for Yen Thuy district, the database here has been integrated into the land information management system of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of Hoa Binh province. However, the stages of data transfer, guidance, operation, exploitation, and editing have not yet been specified.

Digitizing land data is an urgent task for agencies and sectors in the coming time. Photo: Dung Minh

As of June 2024, statistics on the National Public Service Portal show that only the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism have exploited and reused digitized data information to reduce and simplify administrative procedures. The remaining ministries and sectors have not yet implemented it, including the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment with its land database.

By the end of May 2024, the Department of Land Registration and Information Data (Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment) said that only 455/705 district-level administrative units had completed the cadastral database. 325/705 district-level units had completed the construction of the database on planning and land use plans.

In addition, only 300/705 district-level units have completed the construction of land price databases. 48/63 provinces and cities have connected and communicated between land registration agencies and tax agencies to determine financial obligations on land for households and individuals.

Land data must be living, accurate information.

In a recent meeting, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha emphasized the need for agencies and sectors to change their thinking, methods, and technology in land investigation, measurement, and cadastral record-keeping. In particular, it is necessary to clearly define the basic criteria for investigation to avoid widespread implementation, insufficient resources, and ineffectiveness.

"Data collected from the investigation process, updating land records, and providing online public services on land must be live and accurate information," the Deputy Prime Minister directed. In addition, land information and data must be consistent and synchronized from the central to local levels.

At the same time, the Deputy Prime Minister requested to promote decentralization, delegation of authority, and increase responsibility for localities, such as the deadline for completing measurement procedures, establishing land records, and issuing certificates... to meet the legitimate demands of land users.

Previously, in March 2023, the Government issued Resolution No. 37/NQ-CP, which clearly stated the goal of completing the construction of a digital database and a national land information system that is centralized, unified, synchronous, multi-purpose and interconnected by 2025.

To realize the above goal, the 2024 Land Law clearly stipulates the model of the national land information system, from the central to local levels. At the same time, the law also states the responsibilities of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and the provincial People's Committees in investing in building technical infrastructure and system software, building land databases and land information systems.