Illegal land grabs still prominent

BEIJING - The acreage of illegal land seizures has risen every month since January and about 30 percent of such seizures were uncovered in June, the Ministry of Land and Resources said Wednesday.

Illegal use of agricultural lands, usually in the name of the construction of agricultural facilities, has been on the rise, said Yue Xiaowu, an official with the ministry.

Nevertheless, the country reported a year-on-year drop of 1.7 percent in cases of illegal land seizures in the first half of the year, he said.

The ministry uncovered 15,000 cases of illegal land use involving 150,000 mu (10,000 hectares) of land in the first six months, down 35.3 percent year on year, said Yue, adding that the amount included 53,000 mu of arable land, down 26.9 percent from a year earlier.

Authorities recovered 6,681.1 mu of land, including 2,667 mu of arable land, and collected 650 million yuan ($103 million) in fines. A total of 313 people were punished for their involvement in the cases, he said.

The country will be under greater land management pressure in the second half of the year, as many major projects are set to start amid government efforts to stabilize the economy, he added.

China has been striving to crack down on illegal land grabs to ensure sufficient arable land to feed its people and protect farmers. However, local governments rely heavily on land sales for revenue and have been known to give preferential treatment to property developers.