Land deal contested by villagers is being investigated

The Pingdu government in Shandong province is investigating the legitimacy of a land expropriation application seven years ago that some villagers suspect might be associated with a fatal fire on March 21, the local authority said.

On March 21, a 63-year-old Shandong villager died and three were injured in a farm tent that caught fire in Dujiatuan village, Pingdu.

Li Rongmao, a resident in Dujiatuan village, said the village council forged signatures and fingerprints of local villagers as well as documents to get approval from the provincial land agency to use their land for urban development in 2006, said China National Radio in a recent report.

According to China’s Land Administration Law, local government is not allowed to forcibly conduct land expropriation unless compensation is satisfactory, with thorough communication with villagers.

The local villagers have denied that they acknowledged information relative to the land deal and say they are not satisfied with their compensation. Various protests had begun in an effort to prevent construction by developers on the land.

Some villagers pitched tents on their farms and live in the tents day and night to protect the farmland.

Shi Dexin, deputy political commissar at the Pingdu police department, said the tent fire is being investigated.