The top-level design for the reform of the "three plots of land" is about to emerge, adhering to the three bottom lines without breaching them

    The Deep Reform Group deliberates on the pilot work opinions for rural land expropriation, entry of collective operational construction land into the market, and reform of the homestead system

Experts analyze that the scope of land expropriation will be narrowed, collective operational construction land can be transferred and used as shares, and homesteads can be withdrawn with compensation

The top-level design for the reform of the rural "three plots of land" - rural land expropriation, entry of collective operational construction land into the market, and the homestead system - which has attracted widespread attention, is about to emerge. The seventh meeting of the Central Leading Group for Comprehensively Deepening Reforms, held on the 2nd, deliberated on the "Opinions on the Pilot Work for Rural Land Expropriation, Entry of Collective Operational Construction Land into the Market, and Reform of the Homestead System," and emphasized promoting interaction between top-level design and grassroots exploration in reform, adhering to the three bottom lines of not changing the nature of public ownership of land, not breaching the red line of arable land, and not harming farmers' interests.

A reporter from Economic Information Daily learned from multiple authoritative sources that the top-level design direction of these three reforms is, under the premise of the direction and tasks clarified in the "Decision" of the Third Plenary Session of the 18th Central Committee, to clarify the main body of ownership and the main body of property rights of rural collective land; improve the types and powers of rural collective land use rights; explore multiple organizational and realization methods of collective land ownership, and ensure that farmers fairly share in the value-added benefits of land.

Pilot “three plots of land” reform implemented by category

The seventh meeting of the Central Leading Group for Comprehensively Deepening Reforms pointed out that it is necessary to always take safeguarding, realizing, and developing farmers' rights and interests as the starting point and foothold, adhere to the three bottom lines of not changing the nature of public ownership of land, not breaching the red line of arable land, and not harming farmers' interests, and advance in an orderly manner on the basis of pilots. Land expropriation, entry of collective operational construction land into the market, and reform of the homestead system are closely related and can be uniformly deployed and required, but pilot work must be implemented by category. Strictly guarding the red line of 1.8 billion mu of arable land is the bottom line for advancing rural land system reform and the major premise of the pilots, and must never be crossed. The conditions and scope of pilots for homestead system reform must be strictly controlled, farmers' interests must not be infringed, and at the same time withdrawal from homestead use rights must not be used as a condition for settling in cities; this is an important measure related to social stability. Relevant central departments and local authorities must strengthen guidance and supervision, and strictly grasp pilot conditions.

A reporter from Economic Information Daily previously learned from informed sources that the pilot reforms of rural land expropriation, entry of collective operational construction land into the market, and the homestead system will closely follow the tasks of rural land system reform proposed by the Third Plenary Session of the 18th Central Committee. The general direction is, under the premise of adhering to collective ownership of rural land, to strengthen land use regulation and clarify land ownership; improve construction land use rights, safeguard and enrich homestead usufructuary rights, and build a complete rural collective land property rights system; fully leverage the dual role of collective land as resource and asset, and ultimately form a unified urban-rural construction land market with clear property rights, clear powers, guaranteed rights and interests, smooth circulation, and reasonable distribution.

Regarding these “three plots of land,” relevant personnel from the Ministry of Land and Resources told the Economic Information Daily reporter that this round of reform mainly has several major highlights.

First, according to the main body type of collective land ownership, collective land will be clearly attributed to three types of collective property rights subjects: township, village, and group, and multiple realization methods and economic organizational forms of ownership will be explored.

Second, according to land use methods and market needs, establish types of land use rights such as allocation, transfer, and lease equal to those of state-owned land, grant rural collective operational construction land rights equal to those of state-owned operational construction land, and, under the premise of complying with planned use regulation and lawful acquisition, allow rural collective operational construction land to be transferred, leased, and used as shares, truly achieving equal entry into the market and equal rights and equal prices with state-owned land.

Third, according to ownership and property rights relations, explore within collective economic organizations a mechanism for conditional paid use and voluntary paid withdrawal of homesteads, and at the same time steadily and prudently advance mortgage guarantees for farmers' housing property rights, in order to broaden channels for farmers to increase property income.

Fourth, in land expropriation reform, it is necessary to narrow the scope of land expropriation, standardize land expropriation procedures, improve compensation standards, and establish a reasonable, standardized, and diversified safeguard mechanism for farmers whose land is expropriated. In addition, in the entry of collective operational construction land into the market, a mechanism for distributing land value-added benefits that takes into account the state, collective, and individuals will also be established.