New Approved Homesteads "Cut" into Wheat Fields
□ Chief Reporter Zhang Zhili, Text and Photos
YANGQIU - "Without any official approval, our village has privately allocated over 30 homestead plots to villagers, charging each household between 8,000 yuan and 20,000 yuan under the name of 'land lease fees'," said Zhang Jinfu and others from Huiquan Village, Jiangcun Township, Anyang County, who have repeatedly reported this issue to reporters over the past few days.
Villagers Report: Village Cadres Allocate Homesteads for Rent Collection
In their report materials submitted to the reporter, Zhang Jinfu and others claimed that village cadres such as Mr. Wang ignored national land policies, allocating homestead plots to over 30 households without any approvals, collecting a total of 320,000 yuan. Moreover, these allocated homesteads are all on basic farmland.
On the morning of January 16th, in the southern and western fields of Huiquan Village, the reporter saw numerous houses under construction, some just beginning to dig foundations, all occupying farmland. Particularly in the west part of the village, many newly built or about-to-be-built houses and foundations have already encroached upon wheat fields.
Under the guidance of villager Zhang Wenshu, the reporter visited several households that had been allocated homestead plots to understand the situation. In villager Zhang's home, he showed the reporter a receipt issued by the village cadres. The receipt, titled "Anyang County Rural Unified Receipt," stated: "Received from Zhang the sum of RMB 13,000 as land lease fee." Signatories: Hai Long, Xi Cun, Wan Shun. Stamp: Financial Dedicated Seal of Huiquan Village, Jiangcun Township, Anyang County.
Reporter Investigation: Relevant Officials "Pass the Buck"
To further clarify the situation, the reporter went to the village committee courtyard and the homes of the village director and party secretary, but their families all claimed they did not know where they were or their phone numbers.
At 11 a.m. yesterday, the door of the Land Resources Office located in the Jiangcun Township government compound was tightly locked. A deputy township head in charge of land work, after seeing the report materials, said he knew about the matter. When the reporter asked if the charges were in accordance with policy, the deputy township head said he had not specifically handled the matter and was unaware of the details.
At 11:30 a.m., at the First Supervision Team office of the Anyang County Land Resources Bureau located in Shuiye Town, the reporter encountered closed doors again. Subsequently, the reporter contacted the team leader, Zhang Junming, by phone. "We have not conducted an investigation in the village, so we cannot conclude whether it is legal," Zhang Junming told the reporter when questioned about whether the collection of 'land lease fees' for occupying farmland to allocate homesteads complies with land policies.
Authoritative Statement: Privately Allocating Homesteads is an Illegal Act
"Allocating homesteads does not involve any charge," said Zhang Xuewang, Director of the Legal Supervision Division of the Anyang City Land Resources Bureau yesterday afternoon. He stated that there is no policy basis for the village to collect 'land lease fees' for allocating homesteads. In the early 1990s, the country experimented with paid land use, but this has long since stopped due to efforts to reduce farmers' burdens. Without approval, allocating homesteads within farmland is an illegal act, and the 'land lease fees' collected by the village cadres under private designations are considered arbitrary charges.
Director Zhang Xuewang suggested that disciplinary inspection departments and others could form a joint investigation team to handle the case. Alternatively, the land department could independently investigate and deal with the illegal land occupation behavior.