Amendments to land regulations to encourage development of rural territories in Belarus
Vladimir AndreichenkoBELYNICHI, 23 June (BelTA) – The introduction of amendments and addenda to the Land Code will encourage the development of rural territories. Chairman of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of Belarus Vladimir Andreichenko made the statement during the seminar-conference held in Belynichi, Mogilev Oblast on 23 June to discuss modern approaches to problem resolution and the updated Land Code, BelTA has learned.
According to Vladimir Andreichenko, due to historical reasons matters concerning land are of great importance for Belarusians. “Because land is the foundation of wellbeing of our people and the might of any state. Our land regulations are in need of adjustment. The president of our country identified this goal before members of the parliament in February 2022. A great amount of work has been done, 14 sessions of working groups alone have been held prior to this one. This is why amendments and addenda to the Land Code will contribute primarily to the development of rural areas. To the involvement of currently unused lands in economic turnover, to the removal of many bureaucratic procedures. And certainly a considerable number of functions will be shifted from top downward,” he said.
“Today we've decided to meet with the people, who directly deal with these matters such as heads of rural administrations, heads of agricultural enterprises, heads of district administrations. They know the relevant bottlenecks, which need to be expanded today. And certainly, today we expect some additional questions and proposals from them. They will be taken into account during the second reading of the Land Code,” the MP remarked.
Deputy Chairman of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of Belarus Valery Mitskevich, heads of various commissions of the parliament, top officials of the State Property Committee and representatives of the organizations that report to the committee, representatives of municipal government agencies and self-government agencies of Mogilev Oblast took part in the seminar.
Deputy Chairman of the State Property Committee Nikolai Bober underlined that Belarusian regulatory norms have to live up to the spirit of the times. “The main norms are designed to involve unused lands in rural population centers into civil transactions, give our citizens the ability to realize their rights in full as they use their land plots, and give municipal authorities effective tools, which will allow effectively regulating land relations and resolving problems of our citizens,” he said.
Nikolai Bober gave some examples of upcoming changes to land regulations. “For instance, a citizen needs an additional land plot. Current legislation allows granting an additional plot only for the sake of reconstruction of the main building – the citizen's house. Or via an auction, which is not always justified: a person wants to build some household building or it is possible to expand the land plot at the expense of currently vacant lands owned by the local administration. This is why we introduce an amendment to allow granting an additional land plot without an auction and for purposes simply relating to using the land plot in accordance with its primary function,” the official said. “Certain real estate development rules have to be observed but the requirements will be more relaxed.”
Nikolai Bober noted that needs of citizens had been researched and their queries concerning land matters had been studied for the sake of working out amendments and addenda to the Land Code. “We endeavored to develop the Land Code in a way so as to address problems of our citizens,” he noted.