Land valuation must take into account the differential rent at the time of recovery.

(Baonghean) -In general, this revised Draft Law on Land has concretized the relevant provisions in the recent Draft Constitution, with many new provisions and new ideas institutionalizing the Party and State's policies and guidelines on land.

For example, Articles 33 and 34 have clearly stated the role of planning and land use plans, the system from national to provincial and district levels... In particular, it has specified the planning and land use plans for national defense, security, national interests, social interests and economic and social development projects that must be recovered.

In Article 52, Clause h stipulates: Land allocated by the State for lease to implement investment projects but not implemented within 12 consecutive months or the land use progress is slower than 24 months must be recovered. This content was already in Article 38 of the 2003 Land Law but was not implemented, thus giving rise to the situation of suspended projects, sometimes suspended for decades without being resolved. This time, adding the content that people whose land is recovered in the cases stipulated in this clause will not be refunded the land use fee, land tax paid and assets attached to the land is absolutely necessary. The people strongly agree, thus the investor cannot set up ghost projects, suspended projects to occupy land; the responsible state agency cannot use excuses to not implement, eliminate "group interests". The people also proposed to strictly prohibit the transfer of projects which are essentially land sales like the recent one. This draft also pays attention to legalizing sub-law documents (decrees, circulars) for higher enforcement effectiveness.

Article 69 stipulates the conditions for land compensation when the State reclaims land for use in national defense, security, national public interest and economic development purposes, which is the legalization of Article 8 of Decree 197/2004/ND-CP.

The people welcome this policy because these regulations are consistent with current practice. The people suggest that the law needs to have specific and detailed research to limit sub-law documents and remove the sentences: The Government stipulates specifically in the laws.

What people are most concerned and worried about is that the recent decisions on land recovery, regulations on land compensation prices, and resettlement of people whose land has been recovered are not satisfactory.

The draft Constitution stipulates that land is a special resource. The law needs to specify that land is a special means of production for farmers, so that when it is reclaimed, consideration must be given to creating a new type of means of production for them so that they can soon stabilize their lives.

Land valuation must take into account the differential rent at the time of recovery.

For example: Land for agricultural production has low differential rent and low price, but when it meets the conditions to contribute to the construction of new industrial parks and urban areas, the differential rent has clearly increased, the price must increase accordingly, to avoid the situation where when recovered, the price is only a few hundred thousand VND per square meter, but when sold, it is up to tens of millions of VND.

The law also needs to stipulate at which level the decision to reclaim land is signed and at what level (area?). People welcome the new Article 55 which raises the issue of transferring, leasing land use rights, receiving capital contributions in the form of land use rights (the price must also be reasonable as above) from economic organizations, households, and individuals to implement projects where the State does not exercise the right to reclaim land.

Nguyen Dinh Vo (Forestry Science and Technology Association)