The government is disapproving all applications for new
construction and expansion of various types of development areas,
according to an official from the Ministry of Land and Resources
(MLR). Plans for 2,046 development areas have been canceled so
far.
Land resources and related supervisory and auditing departments
recently embarked on a coordinated effort to strengthen
investigations into illegal land use.
The MLR's law enforcement and supervisory bureau reports that in
2003 there were 178,000 cases involving various kinds of illegal
land use, of which 128,000 have been concluded. The bureau publicly
investigated nine major illegal land use cases that resulted in
severe punishment. Local governments are working diligently to
resolve such problems as defaulting, withholding or diverting
compensation for requisitioned lands.
The MLR has implemented strict land protection policies to end
illegal appropriation of farmland. Striking a balance between
economic development and land protection has become the ministry's
focus.
The MLR has developed three main methods for dealing with this
issue.
Seizing land illegally occupied by development
areas. The government may seize the land outright, restore
it to cultivation or deduct compensatory areas from the developers'
total land use quotas. Major cases will be investigated and tried.
Progress will be monitored in accordance with State Council
requirements, and reports announced publicly. Land developers that
fail to satisfy requirements will be given deadlines for
correction, and their land use quotas for construction will be
suspended pending satisfactory correction of the problem.
Implement and enforce a strict, comprehensive land use
plan. The MLR will implement a comprehensive land use
plan, and any attempt to alter or readjust it will be prohibited.
Expansion of urban and town construction projects without proper
authorization is prohibited. The ministry will guarantee the
inspection and approval, if given, of any construction project. It
will ascertain responsibility for any damage to or reduction of
essential farmland.
Improve transparency in land protection and
supervision. The ministry will improve its dissemination
of information concerning the national land situation and
protection policies to local governments.
The ministry will also establish a mechanism advantageous to the
intensive use and protection of cultivated land.
(China.org.cn?by Li Jingrong, April 11, 2004)