Recently, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs ("MARA") and the Ministry of Natural Resources ("MNR") have jointly distributed the Plan on Launching the Special Program for Clearing Away Houses Built in the Name of Agricultural Sheds to Curb the Non-agricultural Use of Farming Land (the "Plan").
The Plan states that, a special operation will be carried out across the whole nation from September to December this year to intensively clear away houses built in the name of agricultural sheds, in an effort to call a halt to the use of farming land for non-agricultural purposes. According to the Plan, among three types of buildings to be cleared away include illegally built non-agricultural facilities by occupying arable land within various agricultural parks or directly on the arable land, particularly villas and facilities for recreational tourism; commercial residential houses built on illegally occupied arable land within the agricultural sheds; and security guard houses for agricultural sheds that are built beyond the standard, and even profit-oriented residential buildings developed on the land by illegally changing the use of the arable land. Furthermore, the Plan explicitly states that, major efforts will be made to make a comprehensive survey of such problems as houses built under the cover of agricultural sheds, resolutely clear away such houses and order corrective actions, conduct strict law enforcement activities and impose harsh punishments, take the law enforcement discipline and accountability seriously, restore the productive functions of arable land as rapidly as possible, and create the long-term regulatory mechanism.