Measures for the examination on the balance between the occupation and supplement of arable land

Measures for the Examination on the Balance between the Occupation and Supplement of Arable Land Promulgation date: 06-16-2006 Effective date: 08-01-2006 Department: MIMISTRY OF LAND AND RESOURCES Subject: LAND Order of the Ministry of Land and Resources (No. 33) The Measures for the Examination on the Balance between the Occupation and Supplement of Arable Land, which were adopted at the 3rd ministerial meeting of the Ministry of Land and Resources on June 8, 2006, are hereby promulgated and shall come into force as of August 1, 2006. Minister: Sun Wensheng June 16, 2006 Measures for the Examination on the Balance between the Occupation and Supplement of Arable Land Article 1 The present Measures are formulated according to the Measures of the People's Republic of China on Land Administration and the Decision of the State Council on Further Carrying out the Reform and Vigorously Conducting Land Administration for the purpose of intensifying the protection of arable land, regulating the examination on the balance between the occupation and supplement of arable land as well as supervising and urging the entities that occupy arable land for non-agricultural construction to perform their statutory obligations of supplementing the arable land. Article 2 The term "examination on the balance between the occupation and supplement of arable land" refers to practice whereby the administrative department of land and resources at or above the county level, according to the principles of "reclaiming the same amount of land as occupied", conduct examination and verification on the implementation of the supplement plan of arable land as legally occupied for non-agricultural construction upon approval according to law. Article 3 The Ministry of Land and Resources shall take charge of the examination on the balance between the occupation and supplement of arable land throughout the country. The administrative department of land and resources at or above the county level shall take charge of the examination on the balance between the occupation and supplement of arable land within its administrative division. Article 4 The principles of "uniform standards, graded responsibility, seeking truth from facts, being objective and impartial, vigorously conducting the standards and investigating into and punishing violators" shall be upheld in the examination on the balance between the occupation and supplement of arable land. Article 5 The non-agricultural construction land that has been approved according to law, for which the obligations of arable land supplement shall be fulfilled within the examination year according to the supplement plan of arable land, shall be incorporated into the scope of annual examination on the balance between the occupation and supplement of arable land. The examination year as prescribed in the preceding paragraph shall commence on November 1 of the previous year and end on October 31 of the current year. Article 6 The examination on the balance between the occupation and supplement of arable land shall be conducted on the basis of each land use project for construction as a unit, with the focus being put on the quantity, quality and capital of the arable land to be supplemented as determined in the supplement plan of arable land upon approval according to law. The "land use project for construction" as prescribed in the preceding paragraph includes the land as used for the construction whose locale is separately selected for energy, communications, water conservancy, mine and military facilities, etc. as well as the land as used for the construction of cities, township and villages in batches. Article 7 An entity shall be responsible for supplementing arable land under the following circumstances: (1) In case a locale is separately selected for land use for a construction project and thus the relevant construction entity shall by itself supplement arable land, it is the entity responsible for supplementing arable land; (2) As to the land use for urban construction in batches, the local people's government at the municipal or county level shall be the entity responsible for supplementing arable land; (3) As to the land use for the construction of villages and township in batches, the relevant rural collective economic organization concerned shall be the entity responsible for supplementing arable land; (4) Where the conditions for reclamation are not ready or the cultivated land fails to meet the relevant requirements, therefore, the fees for reclaiming arable land shall be paid according to the provisions of the relevant province, autonomous region, or municipality directly under the Central Government, and if the local people's government or the relevant department in charge of collecting the fees for reclaiming arable land shall perform the obligations of arable land supplement on its behalf, the relevant local people's government or department shall be the entity responsible for supplementing arable land. and (5) Where the reserves of arable land is in short and if, upon a unified arrangement of the administrative department of land and resources of the province, autonomous region, or municipality directly under the Central Government, the fees for reclaiming arable land shall be charged instead so that arable land can be supplemented in a different place within the administrative division of the said province, autonomous region, or municipality directly under the Central Government, the relevant local people's government or department that has collected the fees for reclaiming arable land shall be the entity responsible for supplementing arable land. Article 8 A system linking the project using arable land for construction to the development and leveling project for arable land supplement shall be applied to the balance between the occupation and supplement of arable land. An entity that is responsible for supplementing arable land shall, according to the supplement plan of arable land as approved according to law, supplement the relevant arable land through the land development and leveling projects. Article 9 A construction entity that occupies any arable land upon approval according to law shall conduct topsoil peel-off for its occupied arable land so as to employ the topsoil in the land development and leveling project or the soil improvement of other arable land. In a region with mature conditions, an entity responsible for supplementing arable land shall make use of the topsoil as peeled off to elevate the quality of the arable land. Article 10 A development and leveling project for arable land supplement shall comply with the overall planning of land utilization as well as the special planning of land development and leveling so as to realize the unity in quantity, quality and ecological management and protection. Feasibility study and design shall be conducted for a land development and leveling project according to the relevant provisions on project management; and the relevant design shall be optimized according to the natural and economic conditions of the region where the project is located so as to vigorously elevate the grade of the arable land to be supplemented. Upon the completion of a land development and leveling project, the administrative department of land and resources shall, in collaboration with the department of agriculture and other departments, conduct an inspection and acceptance according to the relevant provisions on the inspection and acceptance of land development and leveling projects. Article 11 The quantity of the arable land as supplemented by way of conducting a land development and leveling project shall be no less than the quantity of the arable land as utilized in the corresponding land use project for construction. Where a land development and leveling project for arable land supplement is implemented, the grade of the arable land to be supplemented shall be the same as or higher than that of the arable land as occupied, and the area of the arable land to be supplemented shall be determined according to the area of the arable land as occupied. Where a same grade cannot be realized and thus the quality of the arable land to be supplemented cannot be guaranteed, a project with identical grade shall be selected and the area of arable land to be supplemented shall be enlarged according to the measures for conversion on the basis of quantity, quality and grade. Article 12 A land development and leveling project for arable land supplement shall satisfy the relevant technical standards for roads, channels, thickness and slope of topsoil, etc., and shall pass the inspection and acceptance according to the relevant provisions. Article 13 where a locale is separately selected for a project using arable land for construction, the fund for arable land supplement shall be incorporated into the project budget in full amount. As to the arable land used for urban construction in batches, the local people's government shall provide the fund for arable land supplement, carry into effect the supplement of arable land antecedently through implementing a land development and leveling project, whereas no land use fee for newly increased construction land may be charged. As to the arable land used for the construction of township and villages in batches, the rural collective economic organization concerned shall organize the funding or organize the farmers' work and labor to supplement the arable land through a land leveling project. Article 14 When concurrently satisfying the provisions of Articles 10 through 13 of the present Measures, the supplement of arable land for a construction project shall be regarded as having passed the examination. When failing to satisfy any of Articles 10 through 13 of the present Measures, the supplement of arable land for a construction project shall be regarded as having failed the examination. Article 15 The Ministry of Land and Resources shall make arrangement for the examination on the balance between the occupation and supplement of arable land throughout the country on an annual basis. The administrative department of land and resources of a province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central Government shall, according to the arrangement of the Ministry of Land and Resources, put forward specific requirements for the examination on the balance between the occupation and supplement of arable land in cities and counties. The administrative department of land and resources at the municipal or county level shall, according to the arrangement and requirements of the administrative department of state land and resources at a higher level, decide the land use for construction projects within its administrative region that shall be incorporated into the scope of annual examination, as well as organize and implement the relevant examination. Article 16 The administrative department of land and resources at or above the county level shall conduct examination on the land use for a construction project that has been incorporated into the annual examination, conduct examination on the proposal documents, designs, reports of inspection and acceptance, payment credence of funds for arable land supplement, conduct an on-the-spot examination on arable land supplement, confirm the result of examination, fill in the Annual Examination Form of Arable Land Supplement for Construction Project and report it to the administrative department of land and resources of the relevant province, autonomous region, or municipality directly under the Central Government level by level. On-the-spot examination of arable land supplement shall be combined with the completion as well as inspection and acceptance of a land development and leveling project and the investigation into land alteration. As to any project that has passed the inspection and acceptance as well as gone through the investigation into land alteration or whose quantity of arable land to be supplemented has been confirmed through registration of alteration, on-the-spot examination may be exempted. The administrative department of land and resources at a higher level shall conduct examination and spot test of the examination work of the balance between the occupation and supplement of arable land conducted by the administrative department of land and resources at a lower level as well as the supplement of arable land for construction projects as reported. Article 17 The administrative department of land and resources of a province, autonomous region, or municipality directly under the Central Government shall summarize the annual examination on the supplement of arable land for construction as reported by all the administrative departments of land and resources at the municipal and county levels within its administrative division, fill in the relevant statements, attach the explanation materials, report all the aforesaid documents with the work report of the examination on the balance between the occupation and supplement of arable land to the Ministry of Land and Resources before the end of November of the current year. Article 18 The Ministry of Land and Resources shall summarize and analyze the annual examination on the balance between the occupation and supplement of arable land as reported by the administrative department of land and resources of all provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government, and shall, in combination of the spot-test of the supplement of arable land for construction projects, put forward the relevant opinions on the balance between the occupation and supplement of arable land of all provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly the Central Government, and circulate them throughout the country. The administrative department of land and resources of a province, autonomous region, or municipality directly the Central Government shall summarize its annual work on balancing of the occupation and supplement of arable land within its administrative division, and circulate a notice of criticism on those municipalities and counties with low passing rate regarding the supplement of arable land for construction projects, study the measures for improvement and submit a written report to the Ministry of Land and Resources. Article 19 The administrative department of land and resources at a higher level is empowered to order the regions with low passing rate regarding the supplement of arable land for construction projects to conduct rectification and correction within a time limit. Where the rectification and correction fails, the change of the purpose of the agricultural land as well as the examination and approval of land requisition within the region shall be suspended for the time being. Article 20 Where any supplement of arable land for construction projects is deemed as failure upon examination according to the provisions of Article 14 of the present Measures, the administrative department of land and resources at or above the county level shall order the entity responsible for supplementing the arable land to correct within a time limit. Where any entity fails to correct within the prescribed time limit, it shall be punished by referring to the provisions of Article 75 of the Law of the People's Republic of China on Land Administration as well as Article 41 of the Regulation on the Implementation of the Law of the People's Republic of China on Land Administration. Article 21 Where any work functionary of the administrative department of land and resources neglects his duty, abuses his power, practices favoritism or makes falsification in the examination on the balance between the occupation and supplement of arable land, the directly liable principal and any other directly liable functionary shall be given an administrative sanction according to law. Where a crime is constituted, the violator shall be subject to criminal liabilities according to law. Article 22 The present Measures shall come into force as of August 1, 2006.