The first in 20 years! The Fifth Session of the 13th Hunan Provincial People's Congress deliberated on draft local regulations

Red Net Moment Reporter Wu Gongran Correspondent Yi Zhengrong reported from Changsha

On January 17, the Fifth Session of the 13th National People's Congress of Hunan Province heard an explanation on the Hunan Provincial Implementation <中华人民共和国土地管理法>Measures (Draft) (hereinafter referred to as the Draft Measures) and deliberated the Draft Measures. This is the first time in 20 years that the Hunan Provincial People's Congress has deliberated on draft local regulations.

The current legislation is of extraordinary significance, and submitting the "Draft Measures" to the congress for deliberation is a major event in Hunan's political life. Deliberating draft local regulations in the form of people's congresses can fully absorb the will of the people and gather the wisdom of deputies, which is the concrete practice of practicing people's democracy in the whole process.

The object of this legislative adjustment is land management. Land is the foundation of people's livelihood and the foundation of development. The rule of law has a fundamental, stable expectation, and long-term role. Strengthening local legislation on land management is an important measure to improve the land management system and promote the modernization of the natural resource governance system and governance capacity.

General Secretary Xi Jinping attaches great importance to land management and farmland protection, and since the 18th National Congress, he has repeatedly issued instructions on farmland protection, emphasizing the need to "protect cultivated land like protecting giant pandas." In September 2020, General Secretary Xi Jinping stressed during his inspection in Hunan that Hunan Province should shoulder the heavy responsibility of food security, steadily increase grain production capacity, comprehensively consolidate the responsibility of farmland protection, promote the construction of high-standard farmland, and resolutely curb all kinds of illegal and arbitrary occupation of cultivated land.

In recent years, Hunan has adhered to the strictest farmland protection system, firmly adhered to the red line of cultivated land, orderly promoted the construction of a spatial planning system, ensured the demand for reasonable construction land, promoted the conservation and intensive use of land resources, comprehensively promoted the construction of the rule of law in natural resources, and achieved remarkable results in land management.

However, at present, there are still difficulties and problems in Hunan, such as the overall situation of farmland protection is relatively severe, the rural areas have repeatedly banned the construction of cultivated land, the problems of "non-farming" and "non-grainization" of cultivated land still exist, the land utilization rate and output rate are low, the land expropriation procedures need to be standardized, and the legitimate rights and interests of peasants whose land has been expropriated have been infringed upon from time to time, and it is urgent to promote the solution through legislation.

Hunan has always attached great importance to land management legislation, and on May 17, 1987, the Fifth Session of the Sixth Provincial People's Congress adopted the "Hunan Provincial Land Management Implementation Measures", and on March 31, 2000, the Fourteenth Session of the Standing Committee of the Ninth Provincial People's Congress deliberated and adopted the "Hunan Provincial Implementation <中华人民共和国土地管理法>Measures", which played a positive role in protecting land resources and promoting economic development.

The Land Administration Law amended and passed at the 12th Session of the Standing Committee of the 13th National People's Congress in August 2019 and the Land Management Law Implementing Regulations amended and adopted by the Executive Meeting of the State Council in April 2021 have reformed and improved the aspects of farmland protection, land expropriation, collective operation construction land entry into the market, and homestead management.

According to the relevant person in charge of the Legislative Affairs Commission of the Provincial People's Congress, the current laws and regulations on land management in Hunan were formulated more than 20 years ago and have lagged behind significantly. In accordance with land management laws, administrative regulations and policies, it is very necessary to introduce new implementation measures.

In the process of forming the "Draft Measures," in accordance with the requirements of people's democracy in the whole process of development, we should thoroughly promote open-door legislation and democratic legislation, extensively listen to the opinions of all sectors of society, respect the will of the people, especially the opinions of provincial people's congress deputies, ensure that legislation better reflects the people's will, protects the people's rights and interests, and consolidates the cornerstone of good law and good governance.

In order to give full play to the legislative role of people's congress deputies, provincial people's congress deputies are invited to participate in every legislative research forum and listen to opinions and suggestions face to face. In late October 2021, the written text was sent to all provincial people's congress deputies for comments through the people's congress deputies' working platform, and the provincial people's congress deputies put forward a total of 275 opinions and suggestions. In December, the Standing Committee of the Provincial People's Congress organized deputies to study and discuss, and for the second time solicited the opinions of all provincial people's congress deputies, and put forward a total of 296 opinions. A total of 571 opinions and suggestions were carefully sorted out and studied on both occasions, and fully absorbed and adopted.

In order to effectively improve the quality of land management legislation, this legislation grasps the law of legislative work, strengthens investigation and research, strengthens the systematic, coordinated, and pertinent nature of land management legislation, adheres to scientific legislation, and makes the content of the norm conform to the actual situation of land management in Hunan and reflects the objective law.

Previously, the 25th and 27th sessions of the Standing Committee of the 13th Provincial People's Congress deliberated on the draft measures twice. At the Fifth Session of the 13th Hunan Provincial People's Congress, the Draft Measures entered the "Third Instance".

The Draft Measures are divided into general provisions, land spatial planning, farmland protection, agricultural land conversion and land expropriation, use and management of construction land, supervision and inspection, legal responsibility, and supplementary provisions, with a total of eight chapters and sixty articles.

Zhong Zhipeng, deputy to the Hunan Provincial People's Congress and executive director of Hunan Xiangjunlu and Law Firm, said that the Draft Measures start from the reality of Hunan, identify the crux of the problem, target precise policies, and "tailor-made" to establish a pragmatic and effective method.

Zeng Zhigao, deputy to the Provincial People's Congress, general secretary of the party branch and director of the village committee of Hongqiao Village, Pingtang Street, Yuelu District, Changsha City, said that the "Draft Measures" focus on the hot and difficult issues of "the most desired, the most urgent, the most worried, and the most resentful" of Hunan land management, and through legislative standardization, guidance and promotion, can provide land resource support for the implementation of the "three highs and four new" strategy and the construction of modern new Hunan.

Huang Yanhong, deputy to the Hunan Provincial People's Congress and secretary of the general party branch of Hongyuan Village, Jili Street, Liuyang City, said that the core content of the "Draft Measures" is farmland protection. The basic national conditions of the mainland with a large number of people and a small amount of land determine that we must protect the cultivated land well and must not make mistakes.