100-Day Nationwide Campaign for Land Law Enforcement

To solve the salient problems in the current enforcement of land laws, the Ministry of Land and Resources has decided to launch the One-Hundred-Day Nationwide Campaign for Land Law Enforcement from now to the end of this year, focusing on tackling the problem of “replacing land requisition with leasing”.

I. General requirement

We will clear up practices in violation of land law and regulations since January 1, 2005 such as “replacing land requisition with leasing”, expansion of construction land in violation of the land use masterplan, and land use without approval, etc., and resolutely investigate and deal with cases, so as to effectively curb the increasing cases of land law violation, to further put into effect the most strict land management policy, to secure the 1.8 billion mu of arable land, and therefore to guarantee the enforcement of land law and regulations as well as the implementation of land macro-control policies.

II. Major tasks and objectives

• To rectify the practice of “replacing land requisition with leasing”.

Special inspections will be conducted with regard to enterprises' practice of “replacing land requisition with leasing” in violation of the land use masterplan and annual plan. The violators evade the examination and approval of farmland conversion and land requisition, and use farmers' collectively-owned land to conduct industrial and commercial projects construction by leasing (renting), contracting and other illegal means. By the end of 2007, the departments managing land and resources will have thoroughly inspected all such cases, and imposed heavy punishment according to related laws and regulations. Government employees will be held legally responsible for approving land use through “replacing land requisition with leasing” without going through necessary farmland conversion and land requisition procedures. Individuals and institutions that use land for construction by “replacing land requisition with leasing” will be held legally responsible for illegally occupying land.

• To curb the expansion of industrial land in violation of the land use masterplan.

Focused attention will be given to examining the following cases: approved development zones illegally expand the area ratified by the Ministry of Land and Resources, and occupy land in violation of the land use masterplan. Investigations will also be conducted with regard to unauthorized occupation of land for industrial development in the name of “industrial concentration areas”. By the end of 2007, the above-mentioned problems will have been classified and treated with case by case, in order to further standardize the land use of development zones and consolidate the achievements made in development zone rectification. Before the new land use masterplan is approved, it is prohibited to adjust the current masterplan by establishing development zones, industrial concentration areas and industry cluster districts outside the planned area.

• To clear up and rectify land use without approval.

Thorough examination will be conducted on land requisition, land supply and construction in cities without properly going through examination and approval procedures for construction land. By the end of 2007, we will have fully examined the projects involving land use for construction purposes without approval in cities, and seriously dealt with them based on fact. For those construction projects that individually choose location and start construction without going through related procedures, we by then shall determine their causes and responsible parties and provide opinions for dealing with them based on individual cases. Meanwhile, we shall study measures to further reform and improve the approval procedures of land use for construction.

III. Work plan

The One-Hundred-Day Campaign will go through three stages:

1. Self-examination and self-correction (September 15 - October 14).

The Ministry of Land and Resources will hold special video conference to make plans for the One-Hundred-Day Campaign. Land and resources departments at all levels will organize the rectification of illegal land use within their respective administrative areas, according to the plan for the campaign and the main idea of the video conference. They should make full use of the result of satellite photo inspections in the process of self-examination and self-correction, and complete standardized registration forms afterwards. Then the local authorities should report the rectification result to the Ministry of Land and Resources, and also make a copy for local state land inspection bureaus.

2. Examination and rectification (October 15-November 24).

Higher authorities of land and resources management should thoroughly investigate and strictly handle land use violations discovered according to laws and regulations, and standardize land use management. The Ministry of Land and Resources will transfer personnel from provincial land and resources departments to form a special work group to examine the results of self-examination and self-correction, as well as the 7th satellite photo inspection for law enforcement.

3. Supervision and rectification (November 25-December 25).

Land and resources departments at all levels shall draw inferences about other cases from the problems exposed in the examinations, and formulate rectification schemes focusing on improved policies and procedures and specified law enforcement responsibility. Inspection teams headed by members of the leadership group of the Ministry of Land and Resources will further examine the rectification result of some areas and investigate major problems. Local state land inspection bureaus should supervise and urge the authorities concerned in case of delayed and ineffective dealing with cases.

IV. Work requirement and measures

• Reinforcement of leadership and unification of understandings.

The Ministry of Land and Resources will form a leading group for the One-Hundred-Day Campaign. Mr. Xu Shaoshi, Secretary of the Party Leadership Group of the Ministry, Minister of Land and Resources, and State Land Inspector-General, will be the group leader; Mr. Li Yuan, Deputy Secretary of the Party Leadership Group of the Ministry, Vice Minister of Land and Resources, and Deputy State Land Inspector-General, will be the deputy group leader, so will Mr. Gan Zangchun, member of the Party Leadership Group of the Ministry and Deputy State Land Inspector-General. Director Generals of related departments of the Ministry will be group members. The leading group has an office, with Mr. Gan Zangchun as the director concurrently, while the Ministry's Bureau of Law Enforcement and Supervision and the State Land Inspector-General Office will be responsible for doing specific work.

Land and resources departments at all levels should develop full awareness of the significance and urgency of this campaign, following the important thought of Three Represents, and fully implementing the Scientific View on Development. They should mobilize and allocate personnel according to the action plan, and establish related working mechanism. It is also necessary to define our tasks and goals in specific, and set up ad hoc work groups to lead the implementation of the Campaign within the local administrative areas.

• Coordination and cooperation.

Since this year, the Ministry of Supervision and the Ministry of Land and Resources have launched ad hoc actions to examine and rectify violations of land law and regulations. The Ministry of Supervision and other four ministries have carried out special examination on the grant of the land use rights of state-owned land, while the Ministry of Agriculture and other six ministries have started special rectification of some prominent problems regarding land in rural areas. Local land and resources departments at all levels should coordinate tasks in various aspects, according to the arrangement and requirement of these ad hoc action, rectification and this current One-Hundred-Day Campaign, in order to ensure the fulfillment of tasks. It is important to report in time the salient problems during the campaign to local Party Committee and local government. For some tough cases especially, it is necessary to propose to the local Party Committee and government for support, and to communicate and coordinate with other departments, so that key issues in land management and land law enforcement can be settled.

Local state land inspection bureaus will be in charge of supervising the whole process of the above-mentioned examination and rectification as well as the One-Hundred-Day Campaign. They will promote the effective implementation of these activities, according to specific working requirements and inspection focuses at different stages.

• Examination and rectification according to law.

Local land and resources authorities should impose heavy penalties on land use violations according to the laws and regulations, and seriously deal with practices such as “replacing punishment with fines” and inadequate punishment. Violation cases involving government employees should be transferred to the Supervision departments; and to the judicial departments, if criminal acts are involved. Severe punishment will be imposed for holding back information of violations, or delaying investigation of the cases. The Ministry will directly make investigation and hold the personnel involved accountable if the cases are not seriously dealt with. Local authorities should be held liable where there are serious cases in violation of land laws and regulations. Local state land supervision bureaus will send rectification opinion letters in time to local governments of provinces and cities specifically designated in the state plan, in cases of delayed and ineffective investigations. If things do not improve, the local state land supervision bureaus shall report to the State Land Inspector-General, who orders the violators to rectify within a set time, during which the approval of farmland conversion and land requisition in that area is suspended.

4. Active publicity to create a better environment.

Publicity work of land and resources departments at all levels should focus on the One-Hundred-Day Campaign in the following few months. The role of media, including radio, TV, newspaper and the Internet, should be fully tapped to vigorously advocate the rectification result and the examination progress at each stage of this Campaign. It is also necessary to hold regular press conference to release news and progress of the Campaign. Besides, local media should also expose serious cases. Effective publicity on a wide scale will make known the determination of the central government to tighten land management and crack down on land use violations, and therefore to establish the awareness to manage and use land according to laws and regulations, and create a better environment for land management.

5. Formulation of policies and standardization of management.

Through this One-Hundred-Day Campaign, land and resources authorities at various levels should earnestly sum up the experience in land management, and find out the causes from a managerial perspective in view of the current problems in land management and the enforcement of land laws. Management system should be established and implemented within a set time, while ineffective management should be improved. It is important to set up an open and transparent procedure and a collective decision-making system to further standardize working procedures and promote administration according to laws and regulations.

The Ministry of Land and Resources will release the progress of the One-Hundred-Day Campaign and disclose the examination of land use violations. Provincial land and resources departments will report to the leading group office at the end of each stage (October 14, November 24, and December 25); and in serious cases, immediate reporting is required.