Provisions on the Economical and Intensive Use of Land (2019 Amendment)

Provisions on the Economical and Intensive Use of Land (2019 Amendment) Provisions on the Economical and Intensive Use of Land (Promulgated by Order No.61 of the Ministry of Natural Resources on May 22, 2014; and amended in accordance with the Decision of the Ministry of Natural Resources on the First Group of Repealed and Amended Departmental Rules adopted at the 2nd executive meeting of the Ministry of Natural Resources on July 16, 2019) Chapter I General Provisions Article 1 In order to effectively implement the basic state policy for cherishing and reasonably using systems for protection of arable land and economical and intensive use of land, improve the carrying capacity of land resources for economic and social development, and promote the construction of ecological civilization, these Provisions are formulated in accordance with the Land Administration Law of the People's Republic of China and the Notice of the State Council on Promoting the Economical and Intensive Use of Land . Article 2 For the purpose of the Provisions, the term “economical and intensive use of land” means various actions and activities conducted by means of guidance for scale, layout optimization, standard control, market allocation, and efficient utilization, to the end of realizing economical land use, freeing up areas, increasing the intensity of land use, promoting the reuse of inefficient and abandoned land, optimizing the structure and layout of land use, and improving the efficiency of land use. Article 3 The management and use of land shall follow the following principles: (1) Adhering to the principle of economization in priority, occupying or using land or arable land as little as possible for construction, and cherishing and reasonably using every plot of land. (2) Adhering to the principle of rational use, strictly control the total amount of land resources, efficiently utilizing the existing land resources, and optimizing the structure, and improve efficiency. (3) Adhering to the principle of market allocation, properly handling the relationship between the government and the market, and fully maximizing the decisive role of the market in the allocation of land resources. (4) Adhering to the principle of reform and innovation, exploring new mechanisms for land management, and innovating new models for economical and intensive use of land. Article 4 The competent departments of natural resources at or above the county level shall strengthen the communication and coordination with the departments of development and reform, finance, environmental protection and other departments, and incorporate the objectives and policy measures for economical and intensive use of land into the overall framework and the relevant planning and assessment systems of local economic and social development. Article 5 The competent departments of natural resources shall establish a system for economical and intensive use of land, conduct activities for economical and intensive use of land, organize to develop a standard system for economical and intensive use of land and related standards, explore new mechanisms for economical and intensive use of land, and encourage the adoption of new technologies and new modes for economical and intensive use of land, so as to increase the efficiency of land use. Article 6 The people's governments at the city or county level which have made remarkable achievements in the economical and intensive use of land shall be commended and rewarded by the Ministry of Natural Resources in accordance with the relevant provisions. Chapter II Guidance for Scale Article 7 The State shall determine the scale, layout, structure and schedule of construction land through overall land use plans to control the total amount of the construction land. The binding targets and the zoning control provisions as specified in the overall land use plans shall not be broken. The overall land use plans at lower levels shall not break the binding targets as specified in the overall land use plans at the higher level. Article 8 The overall land use plans shall play a role in coordinating the scale and layout of land use for regional and industrial development. The industrial development plans, urban and rural construction plans, infrastructures layout plans, ecological environment construction plans, and other related plans shall be connected to the overall land use plans, and the determined scale and layout of construction land must be subject to the overall land use plans. Where the scale of construction land in the related plans is beyond that as specified in the overall land use plans, adjustment or modification shall be made in a timely manner, the scale of land use shall be examined and reduced, and the layout of the land shall be adjusted. Article 9 The competent departments of natural resources shall, by means of programs, plans, land use standards and market guidance, effectively control the scale of the newly increased construction land in megalopolises, appropriately increase the supply of construction land for regions, small and medium-sized cities and counties with highly intensive use of land and great development potential, and reasonably guarantee the land required for people's livelihood. Chapter III Layout Optimization Article 10 The use of urban and rural land shall be subject to the principles of layout optimization. Guidance shall be provided to the concentration of the industry in development zones, the concentration of the population in cities and towns, and the concentration of residential buildings in the community, so as to promote the rural population to be settle down at the central villages and towns, industrial development to concentrate at the functional areas and arable land to be used for appropriate scale operations. It is prohibited to establish various types of new urban areas, development zones and industrial parks outside the scope of construction land as determined in the overall land use plans and urban and rural plans. The parallel planning and construction of linear infrastructure are encouraged to promote the intensive layout and economical use of land. Article 11 The competent departments of natural resources shall demarcate the urban development boundary and the boundary of exclusion area in the overall land use plans, so as to implement the spatial control of construction land. Urban construction land shall be arranged in a clustered, tandem and satellite-city layout according ......