Regulations on Post-Wenchuan Earthquake Rehabilitation and Reconstruction

Regulations on Post-Wenchuan Earthquake Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Order of the State Council of the People's Republic of China (No.526) The Regulations on Post-Wenchuan Earthquake Rehabilitation and Reconstruction, which were adopted at the 11th executive meeting of the State Council on June 4, 2008, are hereby promulgated, and shall come into effect on the date of promulgation. Premier Wen Jiabao June 8, 2008 Regulations on Post-Wenchuan Earthquake Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Chapter I General Provisions Article 1 These Regulations are formulated according to the Emergency Response Law of the People's Republic of China and the Law of the People's Republic of China on Earthquake Preparedness and Disaster Reduction , for the purposes of ensuring the vigorous, orderly and effective implementation of post-Wenchuan earthquake rehabilitation and reconstruction, actively and stably resuming the normal living, production, study and work conditions for the disaster-stricken people, and promoting the economic and social rehabilitation and development of disaster-stricken areas. Article 2 The guidelines of people orientation, scientific planning, overall consideration, multiple-step implementation, self-reliance, state support and social assistance shall be adhered to in the post-earthquake rehabilitation and reconstruction. Article 3 The post-earthquake rehabilitation and reconstruction shall conform to the following principles: 1. Self-reliance and self-help production in disaster-stricken areas combined with state support and one-on-one assistance; 2. Government dominance combined with social participation; 3. In-situ rehabilitation and reconstruction combined with ex-situ new construction; 4. Quality guarantee combined with efficiency enhancement; 5. Short-term considerations combined with long-term considerations; and 6. Economic and social development combined with protection of ecological environment and resources. Article 4 The people's governments at all levels shall strengthen the leadership, organization and coordination of work of post-earthquake rehabilitation and reconstruction, and if necessary, set up a coordination institution for post-earthquake rehabilitation and reconstruction to organize and coordinate work of post-earthquake rehabilitation and reconstruction. The relevant departments under the people's government at or above the county level shall, under the uniform leadership of the people's government, closely cooperate with each other, take effective measures and jointly do a good job in the work of post-earthquake rehabilitation and reconstruction, according to their division of functions. Article 5 The people's governments at all levels in the earthquake-stricken areas shall be self-reliant, hardworking, diligent and thrifty, raise funds and materials through various channels, and conduct post-earthquake rehabilitation and reconstruction. The state shall give fiscal support, tax preferences and financial assistance to the post-earthquake rehabilitation and reconstruction, and actively provide support in such respects as materials, technologies and human resources. The state shall encourage citizens, legal persons and other organizations to actively participate in the work of post-earthquake rehabilitation and reconstruction, and support the use of advanced technologies, equipment and materials in the post-earthquake rehabilitation and reconstruction. The state shall accept aids provided by foreign governments and international organizations necessary for the post-earthquake rehabilitation and reconstruction. Article 6 Commendations and awards shall be given to those entities and individuals that have made outstanding contributions to the work of post-earthquake rehabilitation and reconstruction, according to the relevant provisions of the state. Chapter II Transitional Resettlement Article 7 The transitional resettlement of disaster-stricken people in disaster-stricken areas shall be conducted based on the actualities of disaster-stricken areas and in such ways as in-situ resettlement combined with ex-situ resettlement, centralized resettlement combined with decentralized resettlement, and government resettlement combined with resettlement with relatives or friends or self-resettlement. Governments shall give proper subsides to those disaster-stricken people who resettle with relatives or friends or otherwise resettle themselves. The specific measures shall be formulated by the provincial people's governments. Article 8 The selected transitional resettlement sites shall be located in an area that has convenient transport conditions and facilitates the people's rehabilitation of production and life, avoid an area of earthquake active fault or area where flood, landslide or collapse, mud and rock flow, ground caving-in, lightning or any other disaster is likely to occur, and avoid factories that produce and warehouses that store flammable and explosive hazardous substances. In implementation, the transitional resettlement shall occupy abandoned or open land, shall not occupy or shall occupy as less as possible farmland, and shall avoid causing damages to any nature reserves, drinking water source protection areas and ecologically fragile regions. Article 9 The people's governments at all levels in the earthquake-stricken areas shall take measures adapted to the local conditions for arranging for temporary housing for disaster-stricken people, based on the actualities. The temporary housing may be tents and tarpaulin rooms, or simple houses and prefabricated houses where conditions permit. Where it is really difficult to arrange for temporary housing, school playgrounds and stadiums that pass the security inspection may serve as temporary refuges. The state shall encourage and provide subsidies to rural residents in earthquake-stricken areas to establish themselves temporary housing meeting the safety requirements. The specific measures shall be formulated by the provincial people's governments. Article 10 The quality and safety of materials used for transitional resettlement shall be guaranteed. Production entities shall ensure the product quality of tents and tarpaulin rooms. Construction and production entities shall adopt qualified building materials to ensure the safety, quality and good seismic performance of simple houses and prefabricated houses. Article 11 To ensure the basic living needs of disaster-stricken people, for transitional resettlement sites, such related infrastructure as water supply, power supply and roads shall be constructed, and such related public service facilities as schools, medical centers, water supply points, public toilets, rubbish collection points, daily supplies points, special supplies points for ethnic minority and necessary cultural publicity facilities shall be equipped in proportion. A transitional resettlement site shall be on a moderate scale, be installed with necessary lightning proof facilities, reserve necessary escape ways for fire control in advance, and be equipped with corresponding fire control facilities to prevent the occurrence of fires and lightning disasters. Article 12 Temporary housing shall have such functions as fire, wind and rain prevention. Article 13 In the use of prefabricated houses, priority shall be given to the seriously affected areas and disaster-stricken people needing to be resettled ex-situ, the seriously affected households whose collapsing houses can not be rehabilitated and reconstructed within a short term, particularly the death victims' families, pregnant women, infants, orphans, bereaved old folks and the disabled, and such public service facilities as schools and medical centers. Article 14 The distribution and use of temporary housing and transitional resettlement funds and materials shall be open and transparent, be announced on a regular basis, and be subject to the supervision of the relevant departments and the general public. The specific measures shall be formulated by the provincial people's governments. Article 15 The land for transitional resettlement shall be arranged for on a temporary basis, and may be used first, with the relevant land use formalities to be handled later according to law; the land for transitional resettlement that is not turned into the land for permanent use at expiration shall be reclaimed and returned to the original land user. Article 16 The people's government at the county level at the place where transitional resettlement sites are located shall organize the relevant departments to strengthen the monitoring of secondary disasters, drinking water quality, food sanitation and epidemic, situation, the epidemiological investigation and the treatment of environmental sanitation. The used disinfectants and detergents shall conform to the environmental protection requirements, and avoid causing pollutions to the soil, water resources, environment, etc. The public security organs at the place where transitional resettlement sites are located shall strengthen the public security administration, timely punish illegal acts, and maintain the normal social order. The disaster-stricken people shall, as organized by the people's government at the county or township (town) level at the place where transitional resettlement sites are located, set up public security and fire control assisting teams to carry out patrol of public security and fire control and other self-defense and self-rescue work. Article 17 The people's governments at all levels in disaster-stricken areas shall organize disaster-stricken people and enterprises to conduct self-help production and actively rehabilitate production, and do a good job in the psychological aid of disaster-stricken people. Article 18 The people's governments at all levels and their administrative departments for agriculture in disaster-stricken areas shall timely organize the rehabilitation of damaged agricultural production facilities, development of rush planting and rush harvesting and provision of guidance on agricultural production technologies, and safeguard the supply of agricultural input and agricultural machinery equipment. Article 19 The people's governments at all levels and their relevant departments in disaster-stricken areas shall first organize the enterprises supplying power, water, gas, etc. to rehabilitate production, provide support for major large-scale enterprises to rehabilitate production, and provide conditions for the full rehabilitation of production and operation of the industry and service sector. Chapter III Survey and Assessment Article 20 The relevant departments under the State Council shall organize the work of earthquake disaster survey and assessment so as to provide grounds for compiling the post-earthquake rehabilitation and reconstruction planning. Article 21 The earthquake disaster survey and assessment shall cover the following matters: 1. Extent of damage to and numbers of damaged cities, towns and villages; 2. Casualties, extent of damage to and number of damaged houses, extent of damage to and numbers of damaged infrastructure, public service facilities, industrial and agricultural production facilities and trade circulation facilities, extent of damage to and number of damaged land for agricultural use; 3. Number of people that need to be resettled, numbers of injured and handicapped people that need assistance, numbers of bereaved old folks and minors that need help, number of houses that need to be provided, infrastructure and public service facilities that need to be rehabilitated and reconstructed, production facilities that need to be rehabilitated and reconstructed, agricultural land need to be consolidated and reclaimed, etc.; 4. Conditions about environmental pollution, ecological damage, damage to natural, historic and cultural heritage, etc.; 5. Bearing capacity of resources and environment, conditions about geologic hazards, seismic secondary disasters and hidden risks, etc.; 6. Conditions about the impact on hydrogeology, engineering geology, environmental geology, topography, river and hydrological situation, major water conservancy and hydropower projects, etc.; 7. Events of public health emergency and hidden dangers; and 8. Other elements that need to be surveyed and assessed for compiling the post-earthquake rehabilitation and reconstruction planning. Article 22 The people's governments at and above the county level shall, based on their division of functions, organize the relevant departments and experts to conduct the project quality and seismic performance assessment of the seriously damaged water conservancy, road, power supply and other infrastructure, schools and other public service facilities and other construction projects, keep the relevant materials and samples, conduct the survey and assessment of mechanism of damage caused by seismic activities to the relevant construction projects, so as to provide scientific grounds for improving the aseismatic design criteria and engineering construction criteria for construction projects and taking aseismatic preventative measures. Article 23 The earthquake disaster survey and assessment shall be conducted in such methods as comprehensive survey and assessment, field survey and assessment and integrated assessment, and ensure the authenticity, accuracy and timeliness of data and materials as well as the reliability of assessment conclusions. The seismic departments and seismic surveillance stations and networks shall collect and keep all the materials and information before, during and after earthquake, and maintain complete files. The work of earthquake disaster survey and assessment shall be developed according to the laws and regulations of the state and the relevant technical standards and requirements. Article 24 The reports on earthquake disaster survey and assessment shall be submitted to the State Council in a timely manner. Chapter IV Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Planning Article 25 The development and reform department under the State Council, in conjunction with the relevant departments under the State Council and the provincial people's governments in earthquake-stricken areas, shall jointly organize the compilation of the post-earthquake rehabilitation and reconstruction planning, and organize the implementation of the planning after the planning has been reported to and approved by the State Council. The post-earthquake rehabilitation and reconstruction planning shall include the overall post-earthquake rehabilitation and reconstruction planning and such specialized planning as urban system planning, rural construction planning, urban and rural housing construction planning, infrastructure construction planning, public service facility construction planning, productivity layout and industrial adjustment planning, market service system planning......