“Land and resources knowledge training is fruitful”

————Following report on rural cadres leaving the land and resources education classroom

At the beginning of the new year, snow is falling. Good news comes from Ningling County, Henan Province, a pilot province and county for land and resources knowledge training for township (town) and village cadres across the country: rural grassroots cadres’ awareness of managing and utilizing land and resources in accordance with the law has been significantly enhanced, and their ability to administer land and resources according to law has been significantly improved. , Land and resources violations have been significantly reduced, and the land and resources petition rate in the jurisdiction has been significantly reduced. Survey figures show that through scientific planning in 1,052 residential areas in the county, 100,000 acres of collective construction land have been freed up, and 20 million miscellaneous trees on arable land have been cleared. From November 2007 to January this year, there were zero records of land and resources violations. There were 3 land and resources petitions, a 60% decrease year-on-year. None of the petitions went beyond the previous level, and all were resolved locally.

A few days ago, reporters and a group of reporters braved the severe cold of winter to set foot on this fertile soil full of spring to follow up and conduct interviews. County Magistrate Li Dongsheng couldn't help but said: "The training on land and resources knowledge has been fruitful."

"The most successful training"

Ningling County is a national-level poverty-stricken county located in the plains of eastern Henan. The county has jurisdiction over 14 townships (towns) and 366 administrative villages. The per capita cultivated land is 1.13 acres, which is lower than the national and provincial averages. "Things are rare and precious, and we cherish non-renewable land resources even more. The Ministry of Land and Resources, the Provincial Party Committee and the Provincial Government have put the pilot training program on land and resources knowledge here as a sign of care and love for the people of the county." Although the training Three months have passed, and County Magistrate Li’s gratitude is still beyond words.

It is reported that there are 394 main leading cadres in the villages (towns) of Ningling County. They adopted the method of holding centralized special training courses. Starting from October last year, they conducted knowledge training on land and resources laws and regulations in three batches. "In order to ensure the quality of training, our county party secretary Jia Hongyu served as the leader of the training leadership group and personally gave lectures in training classes. In order to ensure training, the county government allocated 300,000 yuan from land transfer revenue as training funds." Talkative County Magistrate Li Dongsheng introduced it eloquently. During the training process, the county used the "Land and Resources Knowledge Reader for Township (Town) and Village Cadres" compiled by the Ministry of Land and Resources as a model, and carefully compiled handouts based on land national conditions, land policies, land situation, typical cases, etc. Based on rural realities, they explained and discussed hot and difficult issues such as land and resource violations and legal responsibilities, land acquisition compensation and resettlement, land use planning and annual plans, farmland protection and homestead management and use. At the end, a combination of written examinations and essay writing will be implemented to assess the trainees, which will serve as an important basis for selecting and employing cadres. The majority of cadres unanimously reported that this was "the most standardized and successful training in the county's training history."

"The spring breeze changes the rain and moistens the heart"

This land and resources knowledge training class, Guided by the spirit of the 17th National Congress of the Communist Party of China and focusing on the implementation of the scientific outlook on development and scientific land use, we should conscientiously carry out education on land, resources, national conditions, national policies, and national laws. According to the words of the comrades, "It is like spring breeze and rain, nourishing the hearts of every trainee" and making their ideological understanding produce a "qualitative" leap.

The great significance of training land and resources knowledge was clarified. The rural grassroots cadres who participated in the training unanimously believed that the land and resources knowledge training course held by the Ministry of Land and Resources was timely, necessary and just right. It was a major measure and practical action to implement the spirit of the 17th National Congress. It was in line with the weather and in line with public opinion. It was a timely help and a good rain after a long drought. . The heartfelt words of Qiao Chuanqiang, Secretary of the Kongji Township Party Committee, represent the unanimous voice of rural cadres: "The report of the 17th National Congress of the Communist Party of China pointed out that we must strictly protect cultivated land, increase comprehensive agricultural production capacity, and ensure national food security. We usually study less, but we have no worries." Method, this training has solved a big problem.”

I learned about the land and resources background. Ma Changli, deputy to the County People's Congress and secretary of the Chengguan Town Party Committee, walked out of the land and resources knowledge education class and publicized everywhere: "When I was in elementary school, the teacher talked about the vast land and rich resources of the motherland all day long. This kind of thinking is deeply ingrained and difficult to change. Until now, the awareness of land conservation is very low. Poor land use, lavish use of land, and sometimes even the urge to use land illegally, thinking that as long as the starting point is good, making small mistakes is excused. Only now do we know that the per capita arable land in my country is less than 40% of the world's per capita level, and the per capita coal, oil, and natural gas. The amount of resources is only 60%, 10% and 5% of the world average, and the utilization rate is low and the waste is serious. Look how dangerous it is!" He showed a strong sense of worry.

Feng Xin, the mayor of Zhanggong Town, put it more straightforwardly, "my country's existing cultivated land has dropped to 1.831 billion acres. Not to mention construction occupation, 700,000 acres of land are destroyed every year just by burning bricks. According to data, my country's land resources have the highest carrying capacity The capacity is 1.5 billion to 1.6 billion people, how can we do it if we can’t keep the red line of cultivated land?”

The awareness of land and resources laws has increased significantly. After the training, many rural cadres said frankly that in the past, they did not want to take care of the destruction of farmland, but in fact they felt very uncomfortable. Now it’s great. It’s all clear about the homestead approval procedures and usage standards, the land acquisition compensation and resettlement methods, the “five inaccuracies” for basic farmland, etc. No one wants to be confused and we can’t be confused anymore.

The sense of responsibility in managing land and resources has been greatly enhanced. Fu Dewu, the head of the suburban township, gave a high-level summary of the changes before and after participating in the land and resources knowledge training. He said: "This training class is a completely different person as soon as you enter and exit." This is indeed the case. Before participating in the training, many people regarded land and resources as Management regards the matter as a matter of functional departments and does not actively cooperate. It often turns a blind eye and ignores the matter as it has nothing to do with itself. Through study and training, they realized that protecting land resources is the common responsibility of the whole society and must be managed. “It is our solemn mission and unshirkable responsibility to take overall responsibility for the amount of cultivated land, basic farmland protection area, overall land use planning and annual plan implementation within our administrative region.” Li Weilin, the head of Qiaolou Township, said it with certainty.

“We have to solve the problem on the spot”

Ye Laohan, Shiqiao Township, Ningling County, has an adopted daughter. He wants to recruit a son-in-law to provide for her in her old age, and plans to build a new house on the abandoned land next to the village. . The neighboring nephew's house was narrow and he claimed that he had a share of the land, so the two families fought over it. As a result, Ye's two ribs were broken and he was hospitalized for more than a month, which cost him thousands of dollars. In the past, grassroots cadres did not know much about land laws and regulations and lacked the confidence to speak. They wanted to solve problems but were unable to interrupt. They could only persuade here and comfort there, and act as "peacemakers." Things are different now. Not long ago, Cai Shangbin, secretary of the township party committee, specifically went to the village party branch secretary and said: "We must carry out regular inspections and strict control. When we find out, we will deal with them together and solve the problems on the spot. We will never let the people run away to petition." It’s an injustice, and it starts with you now!” They first explained to Ye the legal provisions of “one house per household” and the standards for homestead use, and then accused Ye’s nephew of hitting someone and causing injury, which was illegal. Finally, he taught both parties to focus on relationship and harmony, and asked Ye to allocate part of the idle homestead to his nephew so that he could enjoy the same usage standards. He then persuaded his nephew to give 5,000 yuan as Ye's medical expenses and lost work allowance. This reasonable and legal treatment convinced both parties, and later the moving story of "the uncle and nephew jointly sent a banner" was deduce.

After the training on land and resources knowledge, the Ningling County Party Committee and the county government studied and established a control mechanism for conflicts and disputes and land violations at all levels in the county and villages in order to strengthen the protection of cultivated land. They divided areas, clarified responsibilities, set time limits, made full use of legal weapons, formed a work pattern of joint efforts and management, nipped each contradiction and problem in the bud, and stopped each land and resources violation at the initial stage. In this way, the government is connected with the people and the people are harmonized, and the long-term peace and order of the society are ensured. Shiqiao Township has set a good example in this regard. It has mediated 15 homestead disputes and stopped 8 illegal land activities, and is at the forefront of the county.

“Leasing in lieu of expropriation” is a new trend in land illegality. It not only circumvents the approval of agricultural land conversion and the payment of paid usage fees for new construction land, but also violates the land use control system, which greatly damages the fundamental interests of farmers. In order to pursue profits, some companies and individuals privately sign lease land agreements with village groups and farmers in the name of developing the economy and benefiting local farmers. They do not hesitate to occupy large amounts of farmland and carry out non-agricultural development and construction, which seriously threatens the security of farmland. According to incomplete statistics, the county has signed 6 "rent-in-lieu" agreements, involving 230 farmers, with a land area of ??1,200 acres, and most of them are basic farmland. At present, these issues have been properly handled. In mid-November last year, a large local farmer decided to expand the scale of his breeding when he saw the prices of food and other daily necessities rising, especially the soaring price of pork. He signed a land lease agreement with relevant farmers through personal relationships, and established a "310" in Liuhe Town. "A large-scale pig farm is planned to be built on the bank of Chenliang River on the south side of the national highway. It will lease 90 acres of land for 50 years. The annual rent per mu is 1,000 yuan. The rent for that year has already been paid.

After learning the news, Yan Mingzhang, secretary of the party branch of the village, thought that the matter was not good and that it was a typical land violation. He immediately reported it to the superior leaders and cooperated with the personnel of the Land and Resources Office to work from house to house, publicize policies and regulations, and explain the interests. Finally, The contract was annulled, the funds returned, and the farmland preserved.

"If we don't do it, who can we ask for it?"

"The improvement of 'hollow villages' has two main purposes. One is to develop production, improve the living environment of villagers, and build a new To lay a solid foundation for rural areas; the second is to conserve and intensively use land and effectively protect cultivated land." In the Yuhuangmiao Village Committee Office of Yangyi Township, Ningling County, Party Secretary Pan Gonghua was seriously criticizing a middle-aged man with his head in his hands. It turns out that Zhang Xinquan, secretary of the village branch, was thinking about village planning when he was training and studying, and he had a map in his mind where to open streets and where to build row houses. When the "hollow village" governance began, he was the first to ask for a pilot project. After the roads in the village were opened, Wang was relocated to his old homestead just in time. Through careful measurement, the comparison standard is 1.5 square meters more. He thought it was his old business, and he was related to the main leaders of the township, and there were only a few more, so he still didn't want to hand it over to the public. For this reason, Secretary Pan came to do the work in person. "The ownership of the homestead belongs to the collective, and individuals only have the right to use it. The standard of enjoyment must be the same. You can occupy a little more, and he can occupy a little more. If the free land in the village is occupied and then extended, how will the farmers live in the future? Land is our lifeblood, and we will not Who should I ask to organize the festival? Besides, the area is different from others, which will affect the overall image. How should the village committee plan it..." His attitude became more and more serious. "Old cousin, stop talking. I will give up a few square meters if my residence has more square meters. If it is no longer 'special', it will make your face look dull!" Wang actually shed tears.

The above situation is only a microcosm of the governance of "hollow villages" in the county. Since December 2007, Ningling County has taken advantage of the strong east wind of the 17th National Congress of the Communist Party of China and the promotion of land and resources knowledge training, adopting a planning-first and follow-up approach, from point to area, in all townships (towns) in the county. ) established 30 pilot villages based on old models. In order to strengthen the organizational leadership of this work, a leadership group headed by a member of the Standing Committee of the County Party Committee and the Executive Deputy County Magistrate was established, an implementation plan was formulated, and a strong work team was organized. Through planning and design, it not only curbed the momentum of village expansion, but also saved more than 100,000 acres of construction land.

“Protecting farmland is our duty”

Ningling County has 14 townships (towns), each with a radio station, and 366 administrative villages. Each village is equipped with a loudspeaker, and these propaganda tools have truly become the mouthpieces of rural leading cadres. Especially in the morning, evening and noon, propaganda sounds come and go. They not only imparted the land and resources knowledge they learned in the training class to farmers, but also led the masses to take action and performed a chorus to protect farmland.

As we all know, planting trees on arable land is a common phenomenon, and some people also call it "greening". In particular, Ningling County, known as the "Hometown of Crispy Pears", blindly developed 300,000 acres of crispy pears outside the existing pear orchards in the early years. Fruit trees were sparsely planted on the arable land, seriously violating the "five principles" of basic farmland. "No" regulations have no benefits at all except affecting farming. Grassroots cadres have always been resistant to this. They shouted slogans to protect cultivated land, led the awakened masses, and quickly carried out clearing operations, uprooting tens of millions of various miscellaneous trees.

Luogang Town in Ningling County has a vast territory, accounting for 1/7 of the county's land area, and is known as the "Siberia" of the county. In the past, this area was all deserted land and saline-alkali land. After years of renovation, it is now mostly medium- and low-yield fields. Ma Chao, secretary of the town party committee, who recently spoke at a national video and telephone conference on land and resources legal knowledge publicity and education for county (city), township (town), and village-level cadres, said: “By participating in land and resources legal knowledge training, our grassroots cadres’ eyesight has become brighter. Now, our minds are smarter. It is our duty to protect cultivated land, not only to preserve the area, but also to improve the quality." He led the masses in the town to follow the "standardization of basic farmland, standardization of basic work, socialization of protection responsibilities, and supervision and management of information. In line with the requirements of "culturalization", we will intensify our efforts and improve our management level. At the same time, they actively sought support from the land and resources management department, applied for land consolidation funds from their superiors, closely integrated land consolidation with the transformation of three "hollow villages", and carried out comprehensive management of "fields, roads, electricity, water, forests, and villages" , enhanced the comprehensive production capacity, changed the face of the countryside, and enabled farmers to see the bright prospects of the new socialist countryside.

(Originally published in "Resource Guide" Issue 1, 2008, author: Lu Zhongyi)