Q: With rapid development of china's national economy, the contradiction between land requirements for economic construction projects and farmland has become increasingly serious. Land acquisitions have the tendency of getting out of control in some rural areas, and cases of illegal acquisition and infringement upon farmers' rights and interests have been on the rise. What will the Chinese Government do to stop illegal acquisition and to better protect the legal rights and interests of farmers?
A: China is a big agricultural country, with 70 percent of its total population living in rural areas and per capita cultivated land far below the world average. In recent years, some local governments have failed to handle properly the relationship between urbanization and grain production. Rampant land acquisitions have become a tendency and resulted in a sharp decrease of cultivated land in some areas. Malpractices on the part of some local governments and enterprises have also emerged. Statistics show that the planned areas of economic development zones throughout the country have reached 35,000 square kilometers. Over 43 percent of the acquired farmland lies idle. Violations of the rights and interests of farmers in land acquisitions have evolved into a detrimental factor to social stability.
The Chinese Government has always attached great importance to the comprehensive development and protection of land resources for sustainable development of agriculture. In order to turn around the tendency and to stop further decrease of cultivated land, the Chinese Government has recently issued a decision on regulating land acquisition and tightening land management, which stipulates that the land requisition system should reformed and the procedures rectified under the principles of “control the scale and protecting farmers' legal rights and interests. The measures include:
Firstly, land planning and purpose of acquisition have bee put under tighter control. Local governments at all levels are required to make land use plans for construction projects, to tighten total acreage control, and to ensure tat the acquired land is within the planned amount and serve the planned purposes. In case the plan needs to be adjusted to suit the requirements of social and economic development, the adjustment must strictly follow legal procedures. Now casual alternations are allowed once the purpose of acquired land is designated.
Secondly, differentiating commercial purposes from public welfare purposes in land acquisitions. Land compulsorily acquired under administrative orders should only be used for the construction of key public facilities, such as water conservancy, transportation, national defense, compulsory education and public health. It should not be used for commercial development. Land acquisition for such a purpose should be conducted through purchase, lease or other market means. The market should decide on the price.
Thirdly, strictly controlling the scale. Land requisitions should limited to extreme necessity.
Fourthly, improving compensation mechanism. Low compensation and unreasonable distribution of added value of land are farmers' two major complaints. They are also the main factors resulting in rampant land acquisitions. The central government, therefore, has adjusted land income distribution structure, set the minimum compensation rate and relocation standards for farmers. It is also taking measures to provide social security and long-term means of livelihood for farmers whose land has been acquired.
China has worked very hard on the development of ecological agriculture. Pictured are crop fields in an artificial forest in Lankao County, Henan Province.
