Anhui tests land reform in wake of plenum vow on rural property rights
In wake of party plenum, which promised to foster trading of rural land, Anhui announces it will let some farmers sell the land they live on
Anhui has become the first province to unveil a comprehensive plan to test land reform after Communist Party leaders announced following a key meeting that farmers would be granted more property rights.
The eastern province's announcement on Tuesday said it would let farmers in 20 districts and counties sell the land they live on and allow villages to sell or lease the land farmers collectively own, or transfer ownership to a company that would develop the land.
A skeleton communiqué from the party Central Committee's third plenum said the party aimed to "establish a unified urban and rural land market for construction" and would "give farmers more property rights".
It is not known whether Beijing has endorsed the Anhui plan.
The central government has been cautious about allowing the trading of rural land designated for housing lest it leave too many farmers homeless and trigger social unrest. So far, only pilot projects have been tried in provinces such as Zhejiang and Guangdong and municipalities such as Chongqing .
According to the Anhui circular, which was issued on Tuesday, right after the plenum ended, but backdated to October 28, governments in the counties and districts covered will facilitate the trading of rural construction land - meaning collectively owned rural land intended for non-farming purposes. Ownership certificates will also be issued by the end of 2015 for collectively owned rural land.