Safeguard Measures for Implementing the Overall Land Use Planning

Institute of Geographical Sciences, Henan Academy of Sciences, Zhengzhou 450003, China

Abstract On the basis of concrete analysis of the main problems existing in the safeguard measures for the implementation of the new round of land use planning, this paper constructs the implementation guarantee system of the overall land use planning. At the same time, the principle and basis of implementing safeguard measures for land use planning are put forward.

Key words Planning, Plan implementation, Safeguard measures

1 Introduction

Overall land use planning, as a kind of strategic planning, plays a very important role in land development and utilization, renovation and protection, regulating urban and rural construction land and other construction lands, strengthening land macro-control, realizing land use control, promoting economic and social development and ecological protection of land resources. But in the planning implementation process, the overall land use planning implementation effect is not satisfactory. Various land use and quotas issued by higher departments, top-down preparation methods, and the lack of adequate study of the actual situation in various places, often lead to some problems not in line with the actual situation of the local areas.

2 Status and function

The implementation and management of land use planning has a direct impact on regional land resource utilization, layout adjustment, ecological environment and economic and social development. In terms of law, administration, economy and technology, the current plan has formulated a series of safeguard measures to guide and standardize urban and rural land use, curb the occupation of large amounts of land and cultivated land for the construction of cities, towns and industrial clusters, and promote the economical and intensive use of land. It has played a great role in strengthening the protection of cultivated land, especially basic farmland. However, these results mainly rely on administrative methods, especially administrative means of examination and approval, social and economic means have not been fully used, to a certain extent, affecting the realization of planning goals. Therefore, it is of great significance to strengthen the research on the safeguard measures for the implementation of planning and to perfect the safeguard mechanism for the implementation of planning.

3 Current problems in the safeguard measures for the planning

3.1ImperfectlegalmeasuresThe legal status of planning needs to be further improved in legislation and practice. At present, there is no complete system of land use planning laws and regulations, especially lacking inLandUsePlanningLawor related implementation regulations. Thirdly, there is a lack of maneuverability in the current laws and regulations on land use planning. TheLandManagementLawclearly stipulates that the state shall draw up overall plans for land use, and the lower level plans shall be subject to the higher level plans, and all kinds of special plans relating to land use shall be linked up with the overall land use plans. But in the actual work, as the legislation construction lags behind, many places one-sidedly emphasize the economic development, and request the plan to obey the development. In addition, due to the division of departments and individual policies, the relationship between special planning and overall planning is easy to be distorted, and the overall control and comprehensive coordination role of planning is difficult to play effectively[1].

3.2InadequateadministrativesafeguardsThe planning management system has not been straightened out[6], the settings, compiling methods and contents of the annual planning indexes cannot meet the actual needs, and the depth of the preliminary examination of the land for construction projects is not enough. In particular, it lacks review of the reasonableness of land, and the authority of preliminary examination is not consistent with the authority of land approval, affecting the linking of the work. The planning review system has been ignored, the phenomenon of greater emphasis on land approval than planning review is widespread.

3.3LackofsocialoversightIt is necessary to further strengthen the public administration of social security measures. At present, the scope of public participation in planning is narrow, the intensity of participation is not enough, and the democracy is not strong. The content of planning that the public can participate in is very limited. It basically stays at the level of publicity of the planning results, and is only the passive acceptance of the planning. The NPC supervision, public supervision, and supervision by public opinion on planning and implementation is not enough, and it has not yet established an effective social control mechanism[2].

3.4LackofspecificpurposeThe preparation of new round of safeguard measures for planning implementation is basically the same, and the county-level planning safeguard measures are almost the same as those at the city level. It is basically the same in plain areas and hilly areas. From the general direction, the macro-prospects of the local economic and social development and the characteristics of land use are not thoroughly analyzed, the implementation is not targeted.

4 The principle and basis of establishing safeguard measures

4.1Principlesfordevelopingsafeguardmeasures

4.1.1Principle of operability[3]. The formulation of safeguard measures and policies for implementation of land use planning must be established on the basis of reality and facts, from the actual economic and social development of cities. In the light of the problems existing in the implementation of land use planning in various prefectures and cities, it is necessary to press close to the reality and highlight the solutions to some major contradictions existing in the implementation of the current planning.

4.1.2Principle of integrity. The safeguard measures and policies for implementation of land use planning are a whole formed by different structures, including legal means, administrative means, economic means, social means and so on, which should be integrated and coordinated to achieve the best implementation effect.

4.1.3Principle of development. The operation of land use planning is a process of development and continuous implementation, which is easily affected by different factors. The planning implementation safeguard measures and policy systems and their constituent elements are required to be seen as objects of development and renewal. At the beginning of the system design and in the course of operation, we should fully consider the complex interrelationship within the research object and the changeable nature, direction and trend of the external environment. And the corresponding measures should be taken to adjust and improve its program, structure and content, so as to achieve the relative stability of the system as a whole and the exertion of new functions.

4.1.4Principle of relevance[5]. In the process of implementing safeguard measures and formulating policies, attention should be paid to the interconnections and interactions among the various components. Under the premise of reflecting the unique functions at different levels, we should make the components and elements of each level tend to be harmonious and orderly, in order to facilitate the realization of the overall function.

4.2Basis

4.2.1Legal and regulatory basis.LandAdministrationLawofthePeople’sRepublicofChina,RegulationsfortheImplementationofLandAdministrationLawofthePeople’sRepublicofChina,RegulationsontheProtectionofBasicFarmland,Urban-ruralPlanningLawofthePeople’sRepublicofChina, andEnvironmentalProtectionLawofthePeople’sRepublicofChina.

4.2.2Technical basis.RegulationsforthePreparationofOverallLandUsePlanningattheCountyLevel(Trial)[Guo Tu Gui Zi(1997)No. 140]of the Former State Bureau of Land Administration, and theStandardforClassificationofUrbanLandandforPlanningofConstructionalLand(GBJ137-90), theStandardforVillageandTownPlanning(GB50188-93), theStandardforTourismPlanning(GB/T18971-2003), theTechnicalGuidelinesofPlanningEnvironmentalImpactAssessment(HJ/T130-2003), and theTechnicalGuidelinesofRegionalEnvironmentalImpactAssessmentofDevelopmentZones(HJ/T19-1997).

5 Content system of safeguard measures

5.1EffectivelystrengtheningsocialsupervisionThe implementation of land use planning needs to consider many factors, coordinate various relationships, and require the participation of all sectors of society. In the process of drawing up land use plan, people from all walks of life, such as relevant functional departments, academia and representatives of public welfare organizations, should be invited to participate, so as to convey the planning intention of the government to the public and listen to the wishes of the public. Once the overall land use planning is approved, it must be announced in accordance with the law[4]. All kinds of media shall be used to propagandize the purpose, significance and function of the revised plan, in order to increase the masses’ understanding of the importance and necessity of the plan revision, and make the plan really be widely known and deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.

5.2Strengtheningtheadministrationoflanduseplanning

5.2.1Special plans such as basic farmland protection, land consolidation, reclamation and development, and overall land use planning at the township level shall be formulated on the basis of this plan, with emphasis on the specific implementation of the land use quotas in the plan to the plots, and the delineation of land use zones.

5.2.2In accordance with the planning and relevant regulations, the annual land use plan shall be formulated scientifically, the main indicators of which shall include cultivated land protection, cultivated land occupied by various types of construction, land consolidation, reclamation and development to supplement cultivated land. The annual land use plan shall be subject to mandatory planning management, and once issued, it shall be strictly implemented and no breakthrough shall be made. In the future, the leaders concerned shall be held accountable for any waste and destruction of land resources resulting from the failure to implement this plan.

5.2.3The land use scale of overall town plan and village plan, as well as the land scale of other industrial plans, should be examined and verified according to the overall land use planning. The overall urban planning, town planning and overall planning of land use shall be connected, the scale of land use shall not exceed the overall plan of land use, and the scale of industrial land use shall conform to the overall land use planning.

5.2.4It is necessary to exercise strict control over the use of construction land and establish a system of preliminary examination of construction land and permission for the conversion of land use. In accordance with the overall land use planning and the relevant provisions on land for construction, the land for construction projects shall be pre-examined, and only those construction projects that are in line with the land use planning, land conservation, and the balance between the occupation and compensation of cultivated land may be granted permission for the conversion of land use. If the land use is not in line with the planned use and it is necessary to change the land use, the land use change planning permission shall be obtained only after the plan has been modified and approved in accordance with the relevant legal provisions. Where cultivated land is converted to other agricultural lands and the conditions for cultivation are difficult to recover, the relevant provisions on the control of land for construction shall be referred to.

5.3Strengtheningeconomicmanagementoflanduseplanning

5.3.1We should cultivate and perfect the real estate market, carry out the paid use of land, and gradually establish a land constraint mechanism that enlivens the stock and controls the increment of non-agricultural construction land.

5.3.2In accordance with the provisions of theLandAdministrationLawofthePeople’sRepublicofChina, the cultivated land reclamation fee and the paid use fee for new construction land shall be levied in full for non-agricultural construction use of cultivated land.

5.3.3It is necessary to formulate economic support policies for land consolidation, reclamation and development. Collective and individual consolidation, reclamation, development of agricultural land, should be given economic support. The investment of a construction unit in the consolidation, reclamation and development of cultivated land shall be included in the production cost or the total investment of the construction project.

5.3.4The county and township (town) governments should, in accordance with the principle of "taking it from the soil and applying it to the soil", use all kinds of land income to establish special land use funds for cultivated land protection, land consolidation, land reclamation, and land development, with an emphasis on key areas.

5.4StrengtheningthelegalstatusofplanningIt mainly includes two aspects: one is to make it clear that "once the plan is approved, it will have legal effect"; secondly, it is necessary to intensify law enforcement, combine regular supervision with law enforcement inspection, and seriously investigate and deal with illegal acts that fail to abide by the law, fail to strictly enforce the law, and substitute one’s words for the law. If a crime is constituted by violating the overall land use planning or destroying cultivated land, criminal responsibility shall be investigated in accordance with theCriminalLaw.

5.5EstablishinganincentiveandrestraintmechanismforstrengtheningimplementationIt is necessary to bring the implementation of the overall land use planning into the scope of management by objectives. The county and township (town) governments shall, according to the needs of planning, formulate land management objectives to be achieved during their term of office, and sign a letter of responsibility for the objectives with the government at the higher level. At the same time, it is necessary to formulate a comprehensive index assessment system and detailed methods of rewards and punishments, and the quality of implementation should be regarded as one of the important contents of the performance appraisal of the relevant leaders.

5.6PerfectingplanningsupportsystemIt is necessary to strengthen the support to the planning for the construction of villages and towns, the planning for the transformation of farmland that provides low or medium yields, and the planning for the development of high-yield and high-quality farmland, and to strengthen the linkage with the overall land use planning, so as to improve the comprehensive land benefits.