Anthony
(6) Government Sets New Rules to Curb Use of Farmland
[CND, 05/18/97] The government has ordered new rules aimed to curb the
inappropriate use of farmland for real estate development, Reuters
reported quoting Xinhua news agency. The set of regulations
issued by the State Council would take effect immediately. According to
the regulations, "The total acreage for cultivation can only increase and
cannot be reduced."
Xinhua news agency said that some localities had arbitrarily used land
without proper approval procedures, which "[had] not only seriously
affected agricultural development and the production of grain, but [had]
also affected the overall economy as well as social stability."
By the end of October all local governments must report to central
authorities any real estate development that has taken place after 1991.
In addition, as part of the effort to preserve land, the regulations
put an immediate freeze on the upgrading of any county to city status,
since city-level local governments have more autonomy in many aspects,
including land development.
Lastly, other relevant measures include forbidding the sale of any island
in its entirety to foreign investors, and the requirement of approval by
central authorities for sales of all land linked to national security, the
armed forces or part of priority areas of protection. (Ray ZHANG)
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Anthony R. Brach, Ph.D., brach@oeb.harvard.edu
http://www.herbaria.harvard.edu/~brach/
Flora of China http://flora.harvard.edu/china/
Harvard University Herbaria, 22 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138-2094 USA
phone 617-495-3646; fax 617-495-9484
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