Editorials

Land a problem

(China Daily)
Updated: 2011-02-21 07:35

Will the Ministry of Land and Resources' action stop local governments from illegally grabbing land from villagers? No one seems to have an answer. But the ministry has a timetable for this campaign, and whatever the result may be, it would be better than nothing.

For nearly a month, from the end of February to the end of March, local governments are required to check on their own whether they have flouted the central government's policy on land requisition.

April will be the month for the local governments to rectify their mistakes under the supervision of the provincial-level land and resources administration. In May, the ministry will organize inspection teams to randomly check whether local governments have done a good job. In case of failure, the teams will urge them to rectify their mistakes within a given period.

This is soft action, which does not even specify whether any local government leaders will be punished for seriously infringing upon villagers' interests or failing to rectify their mistakes.

It is no secret that transfer of land-use rights has become a major source of revenue for local governments. Some local governments have forced villagers living in houses with courtyards to move into apartment buildings away from the land they farm, and turned the land where their homes used to be into farmland. Such a move gives local authorities the opportunity to seek their superiors' permission to swap a generally equivalent area for construction.

But now the ministry has clarified that the policy of moving farmers into buildings does not apply to places not designated for trial.

The problem is whether the villagers who have already lost their homes will be able to get enough compensation from local governments, whether local governments will spend enough money to change the requisitioned villages to their original state and whether the offenders will be penalized.

The policy was meant to protect arable land, but some local governments have violated it to make more money.

A ministry official has said that the policy will be used only in areas that have been chosen to implement it on a trial basis, and cases that are cracked will be posted online for the public's supervision.

Hopefully, some cases will be unveiled and solved during the campaign. But how many of the violators will be dealt with remains a question. It is also a question the ministry should think about if it wants to maintain the sanctity of its authority and function well as a watchdog of the country's land and resources.

(China Daily 02/21/2011 page8)