China is to introduce a nationwide land regulatory system in a
move designed to safeguard arable land and curb overheated
investment in fixed assets. The initiative is being carried-out by
the Ministry of Land and resources.
Nine regional offices reporting directly to the MRL central
office will begin work shortly, according to sources. The offices
will be located in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenyang, Nanjing, Jinan,
Guangzhou, Wuhan, Chengdu and Xi'an. The Shanghai and Beijing
offices have been set up already and the rest are in various stages
of being organized.
Each office will be responsible for land use within its
jurisdiction. For example the Beijing office covers the capital
city, Tianjin, Hebei, Shanxi and the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.
Li Yuan, deputy minister of the MLR, said yesterday inspectors
will oversee land protection in the provinces and municipalities to
ensure local policies and measures conform to national laws and
regulations.
If a case of illegal land use is uncovered the inspectors must
immediately inform the local government concerned and report to the
central authorities if the problem is not rectified.
The amount of farmland designated for new construction projects
in 2007 will remain the same as this year, Li said. In fact the
amount of land for construction projects during the first 11 months
of this year is only half compared with the same period last
year.
By imposing tough controls on farmland use Li stressed that
developers should make efficient re-use of the present occupied
land.
Prior to these two moves the MLR last month ordered the doubling
of the land-use fee for new construction projects next year. Last
week it also ordered a ban on the construction of large commercial
and entertainment facilities, small industrial projects and
residential buildings with low density on arable land next
year.
"The country will continue to implement the strictest land
policy in the world," Li said. He added that 1.8 billion mu (120
million hectares) of arable land should be the bottom line to
ensure food security for the country.
China's arable land has been reduced from 1.95 billion mu (130
million hectares) in 1996 to 1.83 billion mu (122 million hectares)
this year. Per capita arable land is 1.41 mu (0.09 hectare), only
one-third of the global average, according to MLR figures.
Rampant illegal land acquisition and use is widespread in the
country often with the connivance of local officials. This has
resulted in 40 million farmers losing their land in the last 10
years and a further 15 million farmers are expected to find
themselves in the same position in the next five years, said
China's social security authority.
While strengthening efforts to curb the loss of farmland the
central government has also mapped out policies to provide farmers
with compensation, re-employment training and other social security
guarantees.
According to Li about 100 billion yuan (US$12.5 billion) of land
acquisition fees will be allocated to countryside development next
year.
(China Daily December 22, 2006)