VietNamNet Bridge – The revised Land Law, which was adopted by the 13th National Assembly at its 6th session on November 29, 2013, features a number of important new points that draw great public concern.

According to Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Nguyen Minh Quang, this is an important law that has wide and deep impacts on the country’s political and socio-economic situation.

He said the revised law has 14 chapters with 212 articles, up 7 chapters and 66 articles compared to the 2003 law.

It specifies a number of cases regarding the recovery of land for defence and security purposes, socio-economic development serving national and public interests, and for disaster prevention.

Under the law, the Government will specify procedures for compelling land recovery as this is a complicated issue affecting the rights and interests of citizens, he said.

The law also states that compelled recovery of land must be conducted publicly and democratically, ensuring public order and safety, he added.

Chairpersons of provincial- or communal-level People’s Committees must set up councils to measure damage suffered by land owners and decide on compensations to be paid based on the councils’ conclusions.

Compensation will be paid once and directly to land owners within 30 days after the land recovery.

The law has supplementary provisions stating that provincial-level People’s Committees are responsible for offering vocational training to persons who have agricultural land recovered and providing support for them until they find jobs.

It also has additional provisions on the levels of compensation for non-agricultural land owned by residential communities and religious institutions.

Under the law, the Government will come up with a land price bracket every five years while provincial-level People’s Committees make calculations in each specific case.

The law also requires a land pricing advisory agency to join the land price appraisal council to ensure fairness in land valuation. It encourages greater public involvement in devising and implementing land use plans as well as compensation, support and resettlement plans.

The revised land law will help handle shortcomings and difficulties that had led to complaints and denunciations in the past years, said the minister.

The law will offer equal opportunities for Vietnamese and foreign investors, enabling foreign investors to get involved in housing projects for residence, lease or sale, Quang said, adding that it will also provide many choices for foreign investors to pay land rents in short or long periods.

The 2013 revised Land Law will enter into force on July 1, 2014. To help the law’s new provisions soon come to life, Quang said his ministry has urgently coordinated with other ministries, agencies and localities in building documents guiding the implementation of the law, in order to further improve the efficiency of State management on land as well as promote land resources for the country’s socio-economic development towards the industrialisation and modernisation.

Source: Vietnam Plus