China has disciplined two local leaders of central Henan Province for illegally authorizing the
occupation and use of land, according to information from the
executive meeting of the State Council on Wednesday.
The CPC's Standing Committee on Discipline Inspection issued Li
Xinmin, the secretary of Henan Province's Political and Judiciary
Committee, and Wang Wenchao, the party chief of Zhengzhou's city
committee, with serious warnings.
Both are members of the Henan Province's Standing Committee of
the CPC. Li was a former vice-governor of Henan Province and Wang
was the former mayor of Zhengzhou, capital of Henan.
The two are being held accountable for permitting a secondary
school to illegally expand its campus onto farmland, persisting in
the face of direct contrary orders.
Chaired by Premier Wen Jiabao, the meeting of the State Council
decided to circulate a notice criticizing the Henan Provincial
government, and required it to write a self-criticism letter to the
State Council. Following the meeting, all responsible would face
adequate penalties.
From 2003 to 2006, the Zhengzhou government and other
institutions illegally authorized the seizure of 14,877 mu (991.8
hectares) of collectively-owned land for the extension of a campus
area. The Ministry of Land and Resources (MLR) investigated the
case in 2005 and instructed the local government to stop its
illegal behavior.
However, the Zhengzhou government continued to expand the
illegal occupation, despite the case severely violating national
land use policies.
The State Council concluded that the Henan provincial and
Zhengzhou local governments should be held responsible. The
provincial government was found to be in flagrant dereliction of
duty in not carrying out central government policies.
The local government of Zhengzhou illegally made the decision to
occupy the land and other local institutions illegally executed the
decision, said the information from the meeting, adding that?
officials at all levels are to learn from recent cases of illegal
land use and to operate the land management system to the
letter.
The cabinet announced a series of measures this month to rein in
rampant illegal land use, restricting the transfer of farmland for
construction to curb an overheating economy.
This controversy has come after tightening government
regulations following a scrutiny on land use by provincial
governments. Answerable to the State Council, local leaders will be
penalized if land use transgressions are allowed on their watch.
The leasing of land from farmers for construction is banned in the
twin interests of protecting farmers and curbing China's runaway
investment which saw a growth of 30 percent in the first half of
the year. .
Reining in local governments is a major goal of the new policy,
as "they are actually behind almost all major cases of illegal land
use", said Zhang Xinbao, a senior official with the MLR, earlier
this month.
(Xinhua News Agency September 28, 2006)