Decision of the State Council on Intensifying the Reform and Tightening of Land Management
Decision of the State Council on Intensifying the Reform and Tightening of Land Management
Decision of the State Council on Intensifying the Reform and Tightening of Land Management
Guo Fa [2004] No. 28
October 21, 2004
To the people's governments of all provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the Central Government and the ministries, commissions and institutions directly under the State Council:
The fact that we shall enforce the most rigid land management system is determined by the basic conditions of our country that the vast population share limited available land, and it is also the necessary requirements to put the scientific outlook on development into practice and guarantee the sustainable development of the economy and society. Since last year, all localities and departments have earnestly carried out the deployment of the Central Committee of the Communist Party and the State Council, cleaned up various development areas in an all-round way, and conscientiously implemented the decision on suspending the approval of the transformed use of agricultural land, thus active progress has been made in the improvement and rectification of land market, and the implementation of macro-control policies has been promoted effectively. However, the effect of the improvement and rectification of land market is just initial and periodic, and the problems such as haphazard investment, low-level redundant construction, occupation of land and misuse of arable land have not been resolved fundamentally. Therefore, we shall treat the relationship between the development of the economy and society and the protection of land resources correctly, control the increase in the construction land strictly, try to liquidize remnant land, strengthen the optimal land utilization, intensify reform, perfect the legal system, take all factors into consideration, and further perfect the most rigid land management system which suits the specific conditions of our country completely. It is hereby decided as follows:
Article 1 Strictly enforce the laws and regulations on land management
1. Foster the concept of abiding by the land laws and regulations firmly. All localities and relevant departments shall persistently carry out the study of land laws and regulations in depth, comprehend the specific conditions of our country and the importance of land protection fully, administrate the land in accordance with the law with the attitude of being responsible for the people and history, promote the transformation of economic growth mode actively, realize the transformation of land utilization mode, and take path of new industrialization and urbanization. We shall further strengthen the awareness of administrating and utilizing the land in accordance with the law, and reasonably use the land within the scope as permitted by the laws and regulations. Where the land is approved to be used or occupied in violation of the laws and regulations, relevant legal responsibilities shall be borne.
2. The examination and approval of land use shall comply with the procedure legally prescribed. The authority to examine and approve the transformed use of agricultural land and land expropriation shall be wielded by the State Council and the governments of all provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government, and the governments of all provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government shall not decentralize the power of land examination and approval in violation of laws and administrative regulations. The legal authority of examination and approval shall not be evaded, and the activities that the land for the construction of a single project is split for approval shall be prohibited.
3. Implement the system of compensation for the arable land occupied. Where a non-agricultural construction is approved to occupy the arable land, the construction unit shall make up for such arable land with other arable land with equal quantity and quality, and the quantity and quality of the arable land shall be converted according to the its class so as to avoid that more land is made up with less land or the land with good quality is made up with inferior land. In case the arable land can not be made up with other arable land, the construction unit in question shall pay the reclamation fees of arable land in accordance with the provisions of the province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central Government. The reclamation fees of arable land shall be listed in the special account for management, and shall not be reduced, remitted, or used for other purposes. Where the construction project is invested by the government, the expenses on making up the arable land shall also be listed into the project budget.
4. The attraction of investment through illegally reducing the land price. The governments of all provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government shall formulate and publish the minimum price standards for the land to be granted accordance with an agreement. Where the land is granted in accordance with an agreement, the procedure legally prescribed shall be gone through strictly and the grant price shall not be lower than the minimum price standards. Where the land is granted in violation of regulations, and the loss is thus caused to the state-owned land assets, relevant responsibilities shall be investigated and fixed in accordance with the law; where the case is serious, the criminal responsibilities shall be investigated and fixed in accordance with the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China under the crime of illegal grant of the right to use the state-owned land at a low price.
5. Strictly investigate and punish the activities in violation of the laws and regulations on land management in accordance with the law. At present, the emphasis shall be put on the resolution of the problems such as non-abidance by the law, laxity in law enforcement, no punishment on the law breaker, and infringement on citizens' legitimate rights and interests by means of abuse of the administrative power. The enforcement of the laws on land management shall be strengthened, and the cases of illegal approval of use or occupation of land shall be investigated and prosecuted. The system that the department of land and resources and the supervision department handle a case jointly and the system of transfer of cases shall be set up so that both the violation of the land management laws and the relevant violator can be investigated and prosecuted. The typical case shall be handled in public. The State functionary who has illegally approved the occupation and expropriation of the land as well as illegally assigned the right to use the state-owned land shall be subject to the administrative sanctions in accordance with the Provisional Administrative Sanction Measures of the Ministry of Supervision and the Ministry of Land and Resources for Punishing Behaviors in Violation of the Land Administrative Provisions; where a crime is constituted, the functionary in question shall be investigated for criminal responsibilities in accordance with the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China, the Land Administration Law of the People's Republic of China, the Interpretation of the Supreme People's Court on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in Hearing Criminal Cases of Destructing Land Resources, and the Provisions of the Supreme People's Procuratorate on the Criteria for Filing a Case.
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