According to the latest regulations, can graves be built on rice-growing land?
My family is planning to buy a plot of land to build a cemetery for the family. However, I am wondering that the land my family is planning to buy is a plot of land with the land use purpose recorded in the red book as rice land. So, can my family build a cemetery on rice land?. The concern of Mr. Ho Van Luyen (Quynh Van commune, Nghe An).
Reply:Clause 3, Article 182 of the 2024 Land Law stipulates one of the obligations of rice land users as follows:“Paddy land users are responsible for improving and increasing soil fertility; they are not allowed to convert the land to other uses without permission from a competent State agency.”
In addition, according to Clause 10, Article 9 of the Law on Cultivation 2018, the act of"illegally exploiting and using the topsoil of land used for rice cultivation for non-agricultural purposes"is prohibited behavior.
At the same time, according to Clause 1, Article 121 of the 2024 Land Law, the conversion of rice-growing land to other types of land (including land for cemeteries, graveyards, and tombs) must be permitted by a competent State agency.
Therefore, his family is not allowed to build a tomb on rice-growing land without permission. If he wants to build a tomb on rice-growing land, his family must carry out procedures to request a change of land use purpose from rice-growing land to cemetery land and can only do so after receiving permission from the competent State agency to change the land use purpose.
If a grave is arbitrarily built on rice-growing land without permission, the land user will be administratively sanctioned according to the provisions of Article 8 of Decree 123/2024/ND-CP with a fine depending on the area of land violated, and at the same time forced to restore the original state of the land before the violation (except for the case specified in Clause 3, Article 139 of the Land Law).
In addition, regarding the use of land for tomb construction, Article 3 of Decree 23/2016/ND-CP stipulates:
- All cemeteries and crematoriums must be planned. The planning and investment in the construction of cemeteries and crematoriums must comply with the laws on planning, construction, and environmental protection.
- The management of cemetery land and crematoriums must comply with land laws, be economical and effective; ensure safety, security and environmental sanitation.
- Encourage investment in building cemeteries and crematoriums to serve many localities, using new, civilized and modern burial methods to maximize land savings, construction costs and ensure environmental requirements and surrounding landscapes...
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