18.10.2011
Belarus President may take back authority to distribute farmlands
MINSK, 18 October (BelTA) – It is advisable to consider re-instituting the President’s exclusive authority over land withdrawal out of farmlands, President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko said at the government session held on 18 October to discuss the withdrawal and allocation of land plots out of agricultural lands.
Alexander Lukashenko believes that the allocation of agricultural lands for construction purposes and other ones should be authorized by the president of the country only.
Only the head of state wielded the authority to withdraw and allocate farmlands before decree No. 667 of 27 December 2007 was passed. The decree extended the authority onto oblast administrations and Minsk City Hall. Since then the amount of withdrawn farmlands has increased dozens of times. Therefore, Alexander Lukashenko believes it is time to reverse the situation.
“Land is the supreme value of any country. Wise use of land resources is vital for the prosperity of a nation. In the present world it is a matter of economic security and food security of the country,” said Alexander Lukashenko. “We don’t have considerable mineral resources. The most useful ‘extractable resource’ for us is what the previous generations have created,” he stressed.
The head of state remarked that the authority in this sphere had been handed over to oblast governors a while before to expedite the procedure of land allocation. Alexander Lukashenko quoted some statistics. In 2007 362.6 hectares of farmlands was withdrawn. After the authority was extended onto oblast governors, the figure rose to over 1,364 hectares in 2008. In 2009 it was close to 5,500 hectares, including over 4,200 hectares of arable lands. In 2010 the figure reached 2,300 hectares. As of 14 October 2011 last year’s figure was exceeded, with 2,540 hectares of farmlands withdrawn, including 1,800 hectares of arable lands.
The President criticized governors for wasteful withdrawal of farmlands. He instructed the State Control Committee and the Belarus President Administration to analyze the situation and report the circumstances, under which thousands of hectares of farmlands have been withdrawn. “I warned you against using farmlands for construction purposes. You should demolish old farms and build new ones or should use inarable lands,” reminded Alexander Lukashenko. He also believes that farmlands can be allocated for building homes only in exceptional cases. He believes spare areas in populated localities should be used for that or in exceptional cases household plots should be added to the territory of a village for the sake of building homes.
According to the head of state, it is also possible to allocate such lands for “super investment projects”. He stressed: “The land that gives grain should continue doing so. You must not use it for other purposes”.
“Certainly, some farmlands can be used for some facilities but the amount should be limited to dozens not thousands of hectares,” said Alexander Lukashenko. He also believes that no red tape practices were used when lands were allocated by the President only. Speaking about the long time required to get the President’s approval for land allocation, Alexander Lukashenko assured “we will use a tighter schedule”.
Alexander Lukashenko believes that the allocation of agricultural lands for construction purposes and other ones should be authorized by the president of the country only.
Only the head of state wielded the authority to withdraw and allocate farmlands before decree No. 667 of 27 December 2007 was passed. The decree extended the authority onto oblast administrations and Minsk City Hall. Since then the amount of withdrawn farmlands has increased dozens of times. Therefore, Alexander Lukashenko believes it is time to reverse the situation.
“Land is the supreme value of any country. Wise use of land resources is vital for the prosperity of a nation. In the present world it is a matter of economic security and food security of the country,” said Alexander Lukashenko. “We don’t have considerable mineral resources. The most useful ‘extractable resource’ for us is what the previous generations have created,” he stressed.
The head of state remarked that the authority in this sphere had been handed over to oblast governors a while before to expedite the procedure of land allocation. Alexander Lukashenko quoted some statistics. In 2007 362.6 hectares of farmlands was withdrawn. After the authority was extended onto oblast governors, the figure rose to over 1,364 hectares in 2008. In 2009 it was close to 5,500 hectares, including over 4,200 hectares of arable lands. In 2010 the figure reached 2,300 hectares. As of 14 October 2011 last year’s figure was exceeded, with 2,540 hectares of farmlands withdrawn, including 1,800 hectares of arable lands.
The President criticized governors for wasteful withdrawal of farmlands. He instructed the State Control Committee and the Belarus President Administration to analyze the situation and report the circumstances, under which thousands of hectares of farmlands have been withdrawn. “I warned you against using farmlands for construction purposes. You should demolish old farms and build new ones or should use inarable lands,” reminded Alexander Lukashenko. He also believes that farmlands can be allocated for building homes only in exceptional cases. He believes spare areas in populated localities should be used for that or in exceptional cases household plots should be added to the territory of a village for the sake of building homes.
According to the head of state, it is also possible to allocate such lands for “super investment projects”. He stressed: “The land that gives grain should continue doing so. You must not use it for other purposes”.
“Certainly, some farmlands can be used for some facilities but the amount should be limited to dozens not thousands of hectares,” said Alexander Lukashenko. He also believes that no red tape practices were used when lands were allocated by the President only. Speaking about the long time required to get the President’s approval for land allocation, Alexander Lukashenko assured “we will use a tighter schedule”.