Widening the "Party's will - people's heart" routes

Power from consensus

Giao Ninh commune was established from the merger of Giao Phong, Giao Thinh communes and Quat Lam town, and is one of the typical localities in the movement of donating land for road construction. In particular, before the merger, in Giao Phong area, more than 1,000 households voluntarily donated over 53,000 m2 of agricultural land and 10,000 m2 of residential land to expand and upgrade the transportation and irrigation systems, contributing significantly to bringing the locality to the finish line of a model new-style rural commune. This is the clearest evidence of the spirit of sharing and solidarity for the benefit of the community.

The decisive factor for the success of the land donation movement to open roads is how to make the policy "permeate" into the people, turning it into the will and voluntary action of each person. To achieve that, the Party Committee of the commune issued a specialized resolution on mobilizing people to donate land, expand roads, assigning clear tasks to each cadre, and at the same time promoting the pioneering and exemplary role of party members according to the motto "top first, bottom last", "party members go first, the country follows". Cadres and party members do not fear difficulties, persistently "go to every alley, knock on every door" to propagate, explain, and resolve concerns, thereby creating high consensus.

Mr. Mai Duc Kien's family in Lam Tru hamlet not only donated 150 square meters of residential land but also demolished more than 100 meters of the surrounding wall to facilitate the construction of a drainage system running in front of their house. "We told each other to donate land voluntarily. Any house that broke the surrounding wall would rebuild it themselves, as long as the road was wide and beautiful for the whole village," Mr. Kien shared simply. That exemplary behavior spread strongly, urging many other groups and individuals such as the Party cells and people of Lam Hoan and Lam Quan hamlets, party member Nguyen Hong Giang, Bao Hoa pagoda... to join hands and contribute. Thanks to that, up to now, 100% of inter-commune, inter-hamlet, and intra-field roads in Giao Ninh have been expanded, hardened, and synchronized from signs, trees to night lighting systems.

The story of the leadership of the Party Committee combined with the exemplary spirit of Party members is clearly demonstrated in the Du Long residential group (TDP), Duy Tan ward. From 2023 to now, over 70 households have voluntarily donated more than 1,000m2 of land to expand 3 roads. If in the past, the roads were only about 2.5m wide, making it inconvenient to travel and transport goods, now they have been paved with asphalt, widened to 4-5m, with a drainage system and full lighting. Many households had to demolish ancillary works, fences, gates... To achieve that result, the mobilization process was not easy. The Party Cell and the TDP Front Working Committee had to hold meetings with households 5-6 times; some households were successfully persuaded many times by cadres and Party members. It is the perseverance and spirit of “saying what you do” of the party members that has aroused the trust, which has then been transformed into concrete actions of the people. In particular, promoting the spirit of solidarity and mutual support, households that do not have to donate land are ready and willing to voluntarily support funding to help households that donate land rebuild fences, gates, and auxiliary works. Even people from other hamlets have supported up to 5 million VND to share with households that donate land. This is the “key” to turning difficult things into feasible ones, strengthening the relationship between villages and neighbors.

Spreading the spirit of "Party's will and people's will"

Not only stopping at the successes in Giao Ninh commune or Du Long residential group, Duy Tan ward, the land donation movement for road construction in Ninh Binh has also left a deep impression in many other localities, of which Vu Ban commune is a typical example. The 4km long Vu Ban - Van Thang inter-commune road, which is a vital traffic route serving the travel and trade of hundreds of households, has encountered major obstacles when expanding. The problem is concentrated in the more than 1.5km section through Phu Thu village, where the land price is up to 30 million VND/m2. With such land value, the local budget is completely unable to cover the compensation costs if the land acquisition plan is applied. The locality has chosen a difficult but sustainable solution, which is to persistently mobilize people to donate land. In particular, it is to seek the consensus and support of the Phu Thu Parish Executive Committee, where half of the population are Catholics.

The connecting role of religious dignitaries was maximized. The parish priest repeatedly sent messages in ceremonies, calling on the community to join hands with the government for the long-term benefit of the locality. Not stopping at just calling, Phu Thu Church took the lead in demolishing the 100m long surrounding wall, investing over 400 million VND in new construction, and reserving land for the road expansion. This pioneering action, combined with the perseverance of the commune leaders, village officials and exemplary party members, gradually convinced each household. As a result, more than 70 households agreed to donate thousands of square meters of residential land, some households had to move back the construction area by more than 1m, even demolishing part of their house to make room. No one asked for personal benefits, all aimed for the common goal: to have a wider, more airy and safer road. A worthy achievement, the road was widened from 3.5m to 7m, completed with a total cost of about 40 billion VND, becoming the pride of the whole Vu Ban commune, especially the people of Phu Thu Parish.

In Hoa Lu ward, the story of Mr. Ha Dang Thang, nearly 80 years old in Thuong village, donating nearly 50 square meters of land moved many people. "The yard is a bit narrower but the road is wider, convenient for everyone, I feel very happy" - Mr. Thang excitedly said. His action not only has the meaning of material contribution but also has a strong spiritual influence, arousing a response movement in the whole village. From that pioneering action, in just a short time, the road was completed, bringing practical benefits, from more convenient travel to a more spacious and clean rural appearance.

Over the past 5 years, Ninh Binh people have donated thousands of hectares of land and tens of thousands of billions of VND to build roads, irrigation works, and many other welfare projects. Many roads have been paved with asphalt and concrete, spacious and airy, replacing the small, narrow roads full of potholes, "dusty in the sun, muddy in the rain", connecting villages, hamlets, and communes, creating a synchronous rural traffic network, connecting the whole province. What is admirable is that most people are voluntary, without calculating gains and losses, even though many of them are poor households with limited land funds. They are willing to sacrifice "every inch of land is worth an inch of gold" for the common good, for the development of their homeland.

Such achievements could not have been achieved without the close leadership and direction of Party committees and authorities at all levels. From the province to the grassroots, all policies are clearly, publicly and transparently implemented; benefits are thoroughly explained; at the same time, the exemplary role of cadres and Party members is highly promoted. This exemplary role is the "key" to enlighten people's thinking, turning support into concrete actions. As Uncle Ho once taught: "A hundred times easier without the people, it is bearable; ten thousand times harder, it is done", once the people believe and agree, everything, no matter how difficult, will be successful.

With the right orientation, the movement of donating land for road construction in Ninh Binh will continue to be extended, contributing to the formation of more spacious and modern roads, meeting the requirements of socio -economic development, while affirming the strength of national solidarity when "the Party's will matches the people's will" becomes a strong bond between the Party Committee, the government and the people.