Illegal land acquisition is posing a grave threat to the
country's diminishing arable land, a senior land official warned
yesterday.
Improper land use also hurts farmers' interests and threatens
social stability, Gan Zangchun, deputy State land inspector-general
of the Ministry of Land and Resources, said.
"Violations of land laws and regulations have cropped up
recently in some areas," he told a press conference organized by
the State Council Information Office.
Among the serious problems are relentless unauthorized expansion
of construction land, especially by local governments illegally
leasing land instead of requisitioning it; and the use of farmland
for non-agricultural construction.
"Some local governments have arbitrarily expanded development
zones in violation of the master plan for land use, and encroached
on land using various pretexts," he said.
The government has set a target of a minimum of 120 million
hectares for arable land but there are only about 121.8 million
hectares now, making it a "very demanding task to achieve the
goal", he said.
The official also warned that illegal acquisitions leave
farmers' interests unprotected by law, which can cause disputes and
social instability.
That's because once enterprises using the land run into
financial problems or go bankrupt, farmers can neither get the rent
nor reclaim the land.
Land is the fundamental means of production for about 750
million farmers and plays a significant role in social
security.
In the latest effort to combat illegal land acquisition, the
Ministry of Land and Resources will launch a nationwide campaign
which will last till the end of this year to check land law
enforcement, Gan said.
He acknowledged that corruption involving land business is
widespread.
The booming property market and soaring housing prices have made
land sales a lucrative business for local governments.
A slew of officials, including some of high rank, have been
caught for land-related corruption in recent years, such as
siphoning off land sale proceeds or abusing their power to
improperly allot land.
Zhang Xinbao, director of the supervision bureau of the
ministry, said that land law violators are increasingly under the
microscope. Of the 1,221 who faced criminal charges from 2000 to
2006, 501 alone were charged last year, he said.
(China Daily September 18, 2007)