The State Council and the Central Committee of the CPC recently co-promulgated Opinions on Promoting the Development of Small Towns Along a Healthy Track. The document stipulates that it is the right time to quicken development of small towns in terms of conditions and opportunities. To timely promote small towns development along a healthy track is a major task in rural reform and development for a long period from now on.
The regulations point out that small towns have generally experienced sound development in every area. But some problems still exist. Some towns suffer from unreasonable layout due to lack of long-term and scientific planning. Some areas blindly expand towns without regard to objective conditions and economic development laws. Most towns lack a complete set of infrastructures, so the functions of the towns are hard to be brought into full play. The self-managing mechanism of small towns cannot adjust to the demand of a market economy.
The document points out that development of towns is helpful to resolve a series of difficult social problems in rural areas, and to improve rural economic structure and farmers’ income. The development is also helpful to alleviate contradiction between sluggish domestic demand and temporary oversupply of rural produce. The regulations further point out that small towns play an important role in quickening urban development and realizing harmonious development between urbanization and industrialization. Developing small towns is also the road that modernization of agriculture is bound to take.
The regulations stress the point that developing small towns should follow the following principles. Firstly, abide by development laws and develop gradually. Secondly, adjust measures to local conditions and plan scientifically. Thirdly, deepen reform to innovate mechanism. Fourthly, make harmonious development with entire consideration. The regulations point out that the towns need to be developed step by step. China should strive to build some towns with good conditions into rural economic and cultural centers with appropriate scale, scientifically planned layout, complete functions, and neat environment, within ten years. A small number of the small towns, with ideal conditions, will be built into small cities which have more powerful influence.
The regulations require that the development of small towns need overall planning and reasonable layout. The towns with good conditions should be given priority for development. In construction of small towns, much attention should be paid to the development of economy, society and environment as a whole. The total number of town’s residents and the area of the used land need to be controlled reasonably according to construction standards. The plan of towns must be made according to relevant laws, with considerations for compatibility with land use, environmental preservation, transportation network, social development and so on. Adjusting the plans can only be made according to relevant law and proper procedures. Individual features ought to be maintained during the constructions of small towns. Cultural relics and places of interest should especially be protected.
China should foster the towns’ economic bases and develop distinctive economies with great exertion. Focus should be placed on giving support to leading enterprises in agricultural industrialization, and to build the towns into bases for yielding, processing and trading of agricultural produces. The country should make most use of small towns’ advantages to set up service industries, special and comprehensive commodities terminal markets. Tourism should be developed based on local cultural relics and places of interest. Infrastructure and services should be improved to lessen enterprises’ burden in order to draw township enterprises into towns, encourage rural newly-established enterprises to be near to small towns. Taking advantage of reforms of state-owned enterprise, the small towns should attract technology, talented people and concerned industries to little town.
People should adequately use the market mechanism to construct towns. Corresponding preferential policies should be drawn up to attract enterprises, individuals and foreign businessmen to take part in the investment, construction and operation of the towns’ infrastructures. Attention must be made to attracting investment to small towns’ education, culture, sanitation and other utilities. Financial institutions need to broaden their service field to actively join in the constructions of towns. The central government shall give support to the transformation of rural electricity network, construction of roads, communications, and other infrastructures. Local government should mainly support constructions of public facilities and public welfare industries in towns according to their own financial capabilities. Strict examinations should be imposed on approval procedures of projects. Any forms of extravagant waste shall be banned.
Land should be properly allocated for construction of towns. Intensive use of land and preservation of cultivated lands should be realized through careful and overall planning. Efforts should be made to actively develop and use wasteland and discarded land to settle construction land in small towns. Strict measures should be taken to protect cultivated land, and to prevent anyone from occupy land without authorization. Construction land for important towns will be given priority to settlement. Any land use must be paid except what is eligible for exemption based on concerned laws. Funds collected from land use shall be retained by the small towns for their development.
The household registration system in small towns must be reformed. From this year on, any farmer, owning a legitimate dwelling place, having a stable occupation or living, shall be able to transfer their rural household registration into urban household registration at their will. Farmers transferring from villages to towns will enjoy the same treatment as urban residents in all respects, including their children’s opportunity for receiving education, joining the army and getting jobs. No one is allowed to discriminate the farmer-turned-urban dweller. No local departments can levy town-expansion fees and other similar ones on them. The newly farmer-transferred urban residents shall keep their operating right on their contracted lands or transfer them to others with pay in line with relevant law.
The regulations also require that all regions should explore new ways to manage small towns. Governmental management functions of small towns need to be improved.
(Xinhua)
