73 officials punished over illegal use of land
By Richard Fu |
July 8, 2011, Friday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
AUTHORITIES have punished 73 officials for violating land use regulations or for poor supervision, as China toughens its stance on arable land protection amid rapid industrialization and a booming property market.
Those punished include 44 local top government officials, mostly at the city or county level, and 29 officials at local land and resources bureaus in 31 cities or counties, the Ministry of Supervision and the Ministry of Land and Resources said yesterday.
It was the first time that China had announced details local officials being held to account for land use violations and their punishments.
There were a large number of cases involving illegal occupation of arable land in the 31 cities or counties, the ministries said in a joint statement.
Typically, offenses included illegally allowing land to be used for real estate development or for energy-intensive and pollution-prone industrial plants.
Hao Mingjin, a vice minister of the Ministry of Supervision, said land management in certain areas was "in chaos."
China has been stepping up efforts in the past two years to deal with illegal land use as the central government took various measures to cool a housing market partly fueled by rapid growth in local government land sales.
Government revenue derived from land sales totaled 2.94 trillion yuan (US$450 billion) in 2010, up 106 percent year on year.
Under tougher scrutiny, such income has dropped significantly this year.
Officials punished included Hao Yuesheng, vice mayor of Datong City in Shanxi Province, Ding Ruxing, mayor of Shangyu City in Zhejiang Province and Guo Shiwei, head of the land and resources bureau in Chaohu City in Anhui Province.
They were given administrative demerits or Party discipline punishment, with some being demoted. Such punishments could limit future promotion prospects.
The land ministry said yesterday that China had a total of 23,000 illegal land use cases in the first six months of this year.
The cases involved more than 9,066 hectares of land, of which about a third was arable, according to Xinhua news agency.
Last month, anti-corruption authorities were investigating illegal land deals involving more than 60 officials who bought luxury villas in Dongguang City in southern Guangdong Province.
Most of 149 villas in a hillside compound in Tangxia Town belonged to local officials and their relatives who bought them at about 300 yuan per square meter, while the average price in the city was in excess of 7,000 yuan per square meter last year, according to the Southern China Metropolis Daily.
Those punished include 44 local top government officials, mostly at the city or county level, and 29 officials at local land and resources bureaus in 31 cities or counties, the Ministry of Supervision and the Ministry of Land and Resources said yesterday.
It was the first time that China had announced details local officials being held to account for land use violations and their punishments.
There were a large number of cases involving illegal occupation of arable land in the 31 cities or counties, the ministries said in a joint statement.
Typically, offenses included illegally allowing land to be used for real estate development or for energy-intensive and pollution-prone industrial plants.
Hao Mingjin, a vice minister of the Ministry of Supervision, said land management in certain areas was "in chaos."
China has been stepping up efforts in the past two years to deal with illegal land use as the central government took various measures to cool a housing market partly fueled by rapid growth in local government land sales.
Government revenue derived from land sales totaled 2.94 trillion yuan (US$450 billion) in 2010, up 106 percent year on year.
Under tougher scrutiny, such income has dropped significantly this year.
Officials punished included Hao Yuesheng, vice mayor of Datong City in Shanxi Province, Ding Ruxing, mayor of Shangyu City in Zhejiang Province and Guo Shiwei, head of the land and resources bureau in Chaohu City in Anhui Province.
They were given administrative demerits or Party discipline punishment, with some being demoted. Such punishments could limit future promotion prospects.
The land ministry said yesterday that China had a total of 23,000 illegal land use cases in the first six months of this year.
The cases involved more than 9,066 hectares of land, of which about a third was arable, according to Xinhua news agency.
Last month, anti-corruption authorities were investigating illegal land deals involving more than 60 officials who bought luxury villas in Dongguang City in southern Guangdong Province.
Most of 149 villas in a hillside compound in Tangxia Town belonged to local officials and their relatives who bought them at about 300 yuan per square meter, while the average price in the city was in excess of 7,000 yuan per square meter last year, according to the Southern China Metropolis Daily.
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