Regulations on Land Investigation
Order of the State Council [2008] No. 518
February 7, 2008
The Regulations on Land Investigation is hereby promulgated and shall come into force as of the date of its promulgation.
Premier: Wen Jiabao
Appendix: Regulations on Land Investigation
Chapter I General Provisions
Article 1 These regulations are formulated in accordance with the Land Administration Law of the People's Republic of China and the Statistics Law of the People's Republic of China in order to scientifically and effectively organize the land investigation and ensure the authenticity, accuracy and timeliness of the data obtained thereby.
Article 2 The purpose of the land investigation is to obtain the comprehensive information of the status of our country's land resources and their utilization, to gain the authentic and accurate essential data of land, to provide the basis on which scientific planning, rational utilization can be made, an extremely strict protection system for cultivated land can be implemented and the economic macro-control can be enhanced and perfected, thereby promoting the comprehensive, coordinated and sustainable development of the economy and the society.
Article 3 The land investigation shall be organized and carried out under the unified leadership of the state, through the collaboration among the different departments, with a graded responsibility lying on the local authorities at various levels and with the participation of all circles.
Article 4 The outlay for the land investigation shall be jointly borne by the central government and various local governments at all levels who shall list the said outlay in the financial budget of the corresponding fiscal year, pay it on schedule and ensure it to reach the right place in full amount.
The outlay abovementioned shall be subject to unified management and strict payout control, and shall be used for the specified purposes.
Article 5 News media, including newspapers, broadcasting, television and internet, shall timely propagandize and report the land investigation.
Chapter II The Contents and Methods of the Land Investigation
Article 6 The state shall conduct the national land investigation once in ten years according to the need of the national economic and social development.
Investigation on the alteration of the status of land shall be carried out every year in light of the need of land administration.
Article 7 The land investigation shall be made into the following matters:
1. The status quo of the land utilization and the alteration thereof including the land variety, location, area and distribution;
2. The rights on the land and the variation thereof, including the status of the ownership and the right to use;
3. The land conditions, including the natural and social and economic conditions of the land.
When investigating into the status quo of the land utilization and the variation thereof, it shall be stressed on the utilization and the variation of basic farmland, including the quantity, distribution and protection thereof.
Article 8 The method of comprehensive investigation shall be adopted in the land investigation with the integrative use of field survey and statistics, remote sensing monitoring and other means.
Article 9 The national standard provided for in the Classification of the Status Quo of the Land Utilization, a set of uniform technical rules and the basic charts for investigation made in accordance with the national uniform standard shall be adopted in the land investigation.
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