Recently, Shuangsheng Village, Jianhua Town, Kailu County, Inner Mongolia, has attracted public attention because of "charging paid use fees for new cultivated land". The local authorities responded that the cultivated land fee is actually one of the disposal methods adopted for the newly added cultivated land in the pilot plan for the efficient use of new cultivated land in Kailu County, that is, "improve the contract and collect paid use fees", rather than charging for the land whose rights have been confirmed in the second round of extension.
After the incident fermented, Zhang Wenjun, a land farmer, was questioned as "not an ordinary farmer". Recently, the Red Star News reporter interviewed Zhang Wenjun and many villagers in Shuangsheng Village. Zhang Wenjun said that they were originally from the township to attract investment, and now that the land has been fattened, Shuangsheng Village wants to terminate the contract and recover the land, which is "crossing the river and demolishing the bridge". Some villagers believe that the area of the dairy farm built by Zhang Wenjun is not small, and the initial investment must be large, but his income is also large, which should be much higher than the cost.
Zhang Wenjun shows the cow dung used in "raising land".
In this collision between the "change of situation" and the "contract term", the real problem behind it began to emerge: should the land that could not be cultivated at the beginning be cultivated for many years to become new cultivated land, should it be charged? If it is charged, how should the cost of the original investment of the introducer be calculated?
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Contractor's response to identity questioning:
I'm here to attract investment
When faced with the question of being questioned about his identity, Zhang Wenjun told reporters that he and his two younger brothers, Zhang Wenzhu and Zhang Wenlin, had originally attracted investment from the township in 2004. At the time of signing the contract, although the land was still a barren swamp meadow, the investment in leveling the land for many years was huge. "It was a meadow that didn't grow much, and the ground was so potholed that we couldn't get out of the bulldozer at all, so we padded it step by step. Zhang Wenjun said.
Zhang Wenjun said that when they first came to the contracted land, he pulled electricity himself when there was no electricity, and dug his own well when there was no water. All the manure produced by the cattle is pulled into the field for fertilization, and then sprinkler irrigation and watering, everything is done by yourself. "I planted what we were asked to plant, and they had planted alfalfa in the fields and rewarded us, and they had planted silage corn in the fields and gave us silage subsidies. Zhang Wenjun told reporters that the crops he planted were all allowed by the village. Although the contract stipulates the use of the land, there is no provision that corn is not allowed to grow, and there has been no obstacle to growing other crops for many years.
Regarding netizens' questions about Zhang Wenjun's resale of land to earn the difference, he was unhappy about this: "I sublease 700 yuan per mu of land, so how can I not calculate how much money I invested per mu of land before? In the past 20 years, I have calculated the cost of more than 10,000 yuan per mu of land, who do I want to go to?" Zhang Wenjun believes that this is reasonable and legal, and that there was a land contract signed at the beginning, "(the contract) will expire in 10 years, and no one else can control my rent of 7,000 yuan per mu." On April 22, China Sannong released a news release, showing part of the content of the contract, and the contract land period "from March 20, 2004 to March 20, 2034".
Zhang Wenjun revealed that 3,000 acres of land have been contracted out, mainly because his family can no longer "afford to plant": "The original cost of investing in this land has to be repaid, and seeds, fertilizers, sprinkler irrigation belts, etc. are a large amount of expenses every year, so the land is contracted out." Zhang Wenjun said that he and his younger brothers, Zhang Wenzhu and Zhang Wenlin, spent a lot of money to build a dairy farm and level the land, and "constantly repaid bank loans and borrowed bank loans."
Zhang Wenjun believes that if it were not for his 20 years of continuous fertilization, the once almost saline soil would not have rejuvenated its current vitality. Last year, there was no charge for planting corn, but this year it has to be harvested, Zhang Wenjun believes that this is unreasonable, and he is facing the situation of being unilaterally terminated from the contract. He believes that the practice of Shuangsheng Village "is to cross the river and tear down the bridge".
The head of Shuangsheng Village
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There is no charge for the villagers' own land
Small contractors have paid "paid royalties"
The small contractors in the village have paid the "royalty fee" for planting the seedlings early, but they believe that the money should be collected after the contract expires.
On the afternoon of April 27, in the field of Shuangsheng Village, villager Liang told reporters that his family had also contracted nearly 50 acres of land, and he had handed over more than 5,000 yuan to the village because of this year's "paid use fee for new cultivated land" policy.
"In the beginning, I contracted barren land, but after the 'three adjustments of the land', it became arable land, and if we wanted to plant, we had to continue to pay for it. Liang revealed to reporters that the villagers who were classified as cultivated land needed to pay 200 yuan per mu, and at the beginning the village committee said that the villagers generally reflected that it was "more expensive", and then the village said that 100 yuan per mu would be charged first, and the remaining 100 yuan would be given to the village IOU, which was followed by villagers to pay the fee.
Although Liang himself was not happy, he still handed over the money. Because he also knows very well that if the contracted land is subleased, it can be rented for about 700 yuan per mu per year.
Shuangsheng Village is a vast village with a small number of people, and after each household has been allocated basic self-reserved land according to the population, if they want to expand their planting, they need to contract additional land, which is also a source of income for the village collective. Some villagers have no energy to cultivate their own land, and they can also subcontract it to other people.
And when it came to Zhang Wenjun that he hadn't paid yet, Liang thought that the other party "should really pay" the money. As a representative of the villagers, Liang participated in the villagers' consultation meeting when the dairy farm involved in the contract of land was contracted. "(Zhang Wenjun) built a dairy farm area is not small, the initial investment must be large, plus manure pulling, soil filling must cost a lot. But his income is also large, the cost of subleasing land out of the country every year is millions, and his cost per mu of land is definitely not 10,000 yuan. Liang said that even if Zhang Wenjun's fee is collected, it should be distributed to the villagers, after all, the contract price was too cheap at the beginning, only 4 yuan per mu.
Near the dairy farm near Mr. Zhang, Mr. Zhang has lived here for almost 70 years. He told Red Star News: "We didn't pay for the corn we planted in the field last year, and we only let it be planted this year after we paid the money." Moreover, the "three-three system" land contracted by their family in the early years, "In the past, we could still grow some mung beans, small grains and the like, but this year, almost all of them have been divided into grassland for us to plant." ”
It is understood that in the early years, in order to control the "three wildernesses" (barren sand, barren beach, and barren water), Kailu County had launched and signed a "three-three system" land contract, that is, part of the land was contracted to the villagers, and one-third of the land was divided into grassland, one-third was forest land, and one-third was cultivated land.
Of the more than 120 acres of land contracted by Zhang Laohan's family that year, 24.04 acres are currently classified as forest land and 99.93 acres as grassland. There were only 0.95 acres of irrigated land left to cultivate, and he simply stopped planting. The family originally contracted more than 50 acres of grassland, but when the land nature was notified this year, 46.18 acres were zoned for irrigation. The land was originally planted with corn, and last year it was also not charged. When the reporter visited Shuangsheng Village, it was found that the villagers who paid the money were all charged for the use of the contracted land because some of the forest land and grassland were classified as cultivated land during the "three land adjustments", resulting in the emergence of "new cultivated land".
Among the villagers interviewed by the reporter who only planted their own land and contracted farmland that was originally cultivated land, they all said that they were not charged "paid fees for the use of new cultivated land".
Villagers in Shuangsheng Village work in the fields
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Lawyer Analysis:
Where does the Zhang brothers' contract go?
According to the official notice of Kailu County, the additional cost is the "Guiding Plan for Promoting the Efficient Use of New Cultivated Land in Rural and Pastoral Areas in Kailu County" formulated in accordance with the procedures, and the main document is Article 22 of the "Opinions of the State Council on Promoting the High-quality Development of Inner Mongolia and Striving to Write a New Chapter of Chinese Modernization": Improve the service system for the circulation of land and pasture management rights, and explore and carry out efficient use pilots on the basis of promoting the registration and issuance of certificates for the confirmation of new cultivated land.
Kailu County officials reported that when the land was originally contracted, it was 4 yuan per mu per year, but now the Zhang brothers have contracted out the land, and the annual rent per mu is more than 700 yuan. The Zhang brothers have been cultivating land for many years, and 4,650 acres of land have been identified as cultivated land by the "three land adjustments" survey, which has actually changed the land use agreed in the contract, resulting in a change in the nature of the subject matter of the contract. In the pilot work, the village collective considered the historical background and the actual situation, and agreed that Zhang Mouzhu and the members of the village's collective economic organization should also apply the charging standard of 200 yuan per mu of new cultivated land. According to the resolution of the village collective, although he communicated with Zhang Mouzhu and Zhang Moulin many times, he was always unwilling to pay the fee, and carried out the raking behavior on April 12. In the process of discouraging the act of raking, the saying "no farming" appeared in the news.
On the evening of April 27, the Red Star News reporter found Yang Hua, secretary of the village party branch, in Shuangsheng Village, and he politely refused to be interviewed by the reporter.
In the latest report of Kailu County, the people of Shuangsheng Village have agreed to take litigation to claim their rights and interests, solve the problem of conflicts with the Zhang brothers, and ensure that there are no more behaviors such as obstructing land ploughing and land preparation, delaying agricultural time, etc., and the follow-up problems will also be properly resolved in accordance with the law, regulations and policies.
Liu Li, a partner lawyer at Shaanxi Shipan Law Firm, believes that the land contract fee on Zhang Wenjun's side has been paid in 2022. The village committee's act of asking it to pay separately is a matter outside the contract and does not fall within the scope of the contract. Second, the town government officials pointed out that the additional cost was related to the change of land ownership of the land. However, according to the regulations, when the contracted land is subject to the "three adjustments of national land", some forest land and grassland are classified as cultivated land, resulting in the occurrence of "new cultivated land", and only paid use fees will be charged. If the village committee believes that the use of the land has changed and the value has also changed, the two parties can negotiate a new contract. Regardless of whether the nature of the land has changed, in the case of the signing of the contract, the contract shall be handled in accordance with the law.
Pang Jiulin, director of the Beijing Chunlin Law Firm, believes that the matter should be resolved through negotiation between Shuangshengcun, Zhang Wenjun and others or through legal proceedings, and cannot be intervened by the administrative department. If Zhang Wenjun and others have administrative violations, they should also be investigated by the agricultural law enforcement department and make an administrative punishment decision. According to the original contract, the land was used for the construction of dairy farms and forage cultivation, and if the land was converted into cultivated land, the use agreed in the contract would be violated, and the village collective could terminate the contract or change the contract on this basis. However, whether it is changed or terminated, it is necessary to seek the consent of Zhang Wenjun and others, and if they do not agree, they can go to the court to file a lawsuit.
Pang Jiulin believes that a change of circumstances refers to a major change in the basic conditions that the parties could not foresee at the time of entering into the contract and did not belong to a commercial risk after the contract was concluded, and it was obviously unfair to one of the parties to continue to perform the contract. Although there was a government document in this case, it was not sufficient to make the contract impossible to perform, nor was it unforeseeable at the time of the conclusion of the contract, and could not be terminated or modified in accordance with the principle of change of circumstances. In addition, if the contracted land is changed to cultivated land, the land can be better utilized, the interests of both parties to the contract are greater, and the contract cannot be terminated on this basis, but the contract can be changed.
Red Star News reporter Luo Mengjie Intern reporter Zhong Mengzhe
Edited by Guo Zhuang and edited by Deng Minguang
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