Thoroughly consider the construction area on agricultural land in Hai Duong

In order to specify Clause 3, Article 178 of the 2024 Land Law on assigning the Provincial People's Committee to regulate the area permitted for construction on agricultural land to directly serve agricultural production, the advisory and document drafting agencies of Hai Duong province are researching and considering to come up with the optimal solution.

According to the initial draft proposed by the Department of Natural Resources and Environment, livestock barns, greenhouses, net houses and other buildings serving the purpose of growing crops and raising livestock (on land dedicated to growing crops and raising livestock) are allowed to be built on no more than 100% of the land area. Particularly, land for building rest houses, camps for workers, laborers, preserving agricultural products, storing pesticides, fertilizers, machinery, tools and other auxiliary works is regulated into 2 levels. That is, construction must not exceed 10 m²with land area of ​​less than 1,000 m², not more than 40 m²for land area from 1,000 m²or more. This regulation is compiled by the Department of Natural Resources and Environment from the opinions of agencies, unions, and socio-political organizations in the province. There are even suggestions to increase the permitted construction area to no more than 20 m2.²and 80 m²for agricultural production areas with a scale of less than 1,000 m²and from 1,000 m²or more.

Since 2007, Hai Duong Provincial People's Committee has issued Decision No. 1654/2007/QD-UBND regulating the management and construction of caretaker houses on converted land. In which, it is stipulated that the area of ​​the converted area must be from 1,000 m²or more are allowed to build a watch house with an area of ​​not more than 20 m². Compared with the new draft regulation, the scope of the old regulation is only converted land, while agricultural land has a broader connotation. The conditions and criteria for construction of works serving agricultural production on agricultural land are also stricter. Construction must comply with land use planning, works must be built from simple prefabricated materials, not used for residential purposes, only allowed to build 1 floor, no basement, have environmental protection measures, and commit to voluntary demolition according to regulations. In addition, the new draft mentions the area of ​​agricultural land used for greenhouses, net houses and concentrated livestock land. This is a new point to meet the needs of concentrated production, high-tech agriculture, in line with the agricultural development orientation of the province.

In fact, when applying Decision No. 1654/2007/QD-UBND, there were widespread construction violations on converted land. Many households took advantage of and "circumvented" the regulations to build large and beautiful houses. According to data compiled by the People's Committees of districts, cities and towns in early 2023, the whole province had more than 25,000 construction works on converted land. Many construction works violated, mainly building guard houses exceeding the permitted scale, using guard houses for residential purposes. Violations in construction works on converted land have led to consequences in compensation and site clearance for project implementation.

Considering the above issues and absorbing the analysis and evaluation opinions after 2 meetings of the Provincial People's Committee, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment proposed to continue to inherit the regulations in Decision No. 1654/2007/QD-UBND, allowing construction of works not exceeding 20 m.²on agricultural land of 1,000 m²or more. In addition, the adjustment of the construction material structure is only prohibited with concrete and steel. The Provincial People's Committee has basically agreed with this plan and requested to clarify the construction of works directly serving agricultural production, avoiding misunderstandings about construction of works for housing and non-agricultural production and business. At the same time, it is clearly stipulated which specific types of agricultural land are subject to this regulation. The construction area must facilitate the management of local authorities and district level, suitable for the purpose of agricultural production.

This shows that the Provincial People's Committee has considered and reviewed carefully before making a decision.