The land approval is also non compliant! Why are you special?, Flooding farmland and cutting down forest land for the construction of industrial parks | Industrial parks | Forest land

Recently, several villagers from Rongxi Village, Shanzhuang Township, Anfu County, Ji'an City, Jiangxi Province, reported to the China Voice News Hotline 400-800-0088 that a large area of forest land has been requisitioned in the village, and the construction of the North Zone Mineral Products Industrial Park in Anfu County High tech Zone is a local investment attraction project. A few days ago, the local area was affected by continuous rainfall, and a large amount of soil poured down from the project site, flooding some farmland.

The investigation by the reporter found that the land acquisition fee for the project was advanced by the investment enterprise, and the local government had already processed the approval procedures for the investment enterprise to use the forest land before the project land was publicly sold. Why is there a series of unconventional operations?

Hundreds of acres of forest land were requisitioned locally for the construction of industrial parks

Continuous rainfall causing partial flooding of farmland

Recently, Anfu County experienced continuous rainfall. Zhang Chugen, a villager from Longyuan Group 2 in Rongxi Village, Shanzhuang Township, had his 3-acre paddy field flooded. However, what washed into the farmland was not rainwater, but yellow mud.

Zhang Chugen said, "In the past, when there were trees on our mountain, there was no mud coming down. Now they have started construction and have leveled the mountain, washing down all the mud and yellow mud water."

A large number of trees on the collective forest land in Rongxi Village, Shanzhuang Township, Anfu County have been cut down

Wu Yinlin, a villager from Rongxi Village, told reporters that his 1.8 acre paddy field was submerged in yellow mud slurry. The most affected areas are the plots near the industrial park under construction.

Wu Yinlin introduced, "Our areas near the mountain are planted with rice seedlings. There is no hope for this one acre eight fen field, and there is no harvest. This situation did not occur in previous years. If we didn't build an industrial park, our area would be full of green mountains and rivers, and there wouldn't be so much yellow mud. Now that we are under construction, we have it."

Several villagers told reporters that in addition to paddy fields, some village roads have also been affected to some extent.

A large area of trees in Anfu County have been cut down to build an industrial park, and the mountain tops have been leveled

On the collective forest land of Rongxi Village and Xiushui Village in Shanzhuang Township, the reporter saw that a large area of cedar trees had been cut down, and the sawn trees were lying on the ground in disorder, which had not yet been cleared away. In the nearby valley, the mountain has been pushed flat, and a large area of flat land has been formed on the slope. Several excavators are digging mountains and loading loess into heavy-duty trucks, which then transport it out of the work area.

The flooded paddy fields in Rongxi Village, Shanzhuang Township

The reporter learned that the project under construction here is the North Zone Mineral Products Industrial Park of Anfu County High tech Zone, and the project site is currently undergoing land leveling.

According to villagers, starting from June 22nd, some farmland near the industrial park was gradually submerged by mud washed down from the mountains. Feng Meirong, Deputy Township Head of Shanzhuang Township, told reporters that about ten acres of farmland were flooded this time. This is the second time such a situation has occurred, and the company has been ordered to rectify it immediately.

The project land has not been tendered, auctioned or listed

Did the investment company pay land acquisition compensation?

The investigation by reporters found that during the land acquisition and construction process of the project, the land acquisition funds were advanced by the investing enterprise, and the enterprise implemented the "three connections and one leveling" infrastructure construction. It is understood that "three connections and one leveling" refers to the condition that the construction site should meet the requirements of water, electricity, road access, and site leveling before the formal construction of the construction project. This work is a prerequisite procedure for land supply, organized and implemented by government departments. However, the North Zone Mineral Products Industrial Park of the High tech Zone to be built in Anfu County is managed by investment enterprises for "three connections and one leveling", and even land acquisition compensation is advanced by investment enterprises in advance. At this time, the project land has not yet been publicly listed for sale.

Trees that have been cut down but not yet cleared away

Feng Meirong stated that the investment agreement signed between the enterprise and the county government clearly states that all project construction costs will be borne by the enterprise.

Feng Meirong said, "If you build the enterprise yourself, the government will not bear any expenses, including land acquisition fees or planning or forest indicator application fees. Anyway, the government will not provide any money, so you can pay for it yourself. Currently, the land has not been transferred."

According to written materials sent to reporters by the local government, on October 22, 2021, the Anfu County government introduced Fangtong Stone Industry Co., Ltd. to build a new North Zone Mineral Products Industrial Park project in Rongxi Village, Shanzhuang Township, and signed an investment agreement with Fangtong. The total land area of the project is about 500 acres, and it will be constructed in two phases: the first phase is about 300 acres, and the second phase is about 200 acres.

On January 11th this year, the Jiangxi Provincial Government approved the relevant land approval procedures, and the requisitioned land has been converted from agricultural land to industrial land. According to local sources, since January 2022, the project has involved a total of 42 households and 303 acres of land acquisition. In April 2023, all land acquisition funds have been fully disbursed.

Approval letter from the forestry department for the use of forest land by investment enterprises

The compensation for land acquisition should have been disbursed by local financial funds, but in this project, it was paid by the investing enterprise Fang Tongshi. Wang Jiwen, Secretary of the Party Committee of Anfu County Natural Resources Bureau, said that the land acquisition funds previously allocated to villagers were loans from the government to investment enterprises, and have now been repaid to the enterprises.

Wang Jiewen said, "Perhaps due to the tight financial resources at the county level, we asked the investment enterprises to advance the payment first. We have already returned the money to the enterprise, and the local township has borrowed some money from it to carry out the preliminary work."

However, the government of Shanzhuang Township has given a different explanation. Deputy Township Mayor Feng Meirong said that the land acquisition compensation is paid by the investment enterprise and has not been refunded to the enterprise at present. "In theory, it is funded by the finance department, but because the agreement signed by the county at that time was' no withdrawal ', all related expenses were borne by the enterprise itself."

Construction site

Industrial land must be sold through bidding, auction, and listing methods. In Anfu County, the land for the mining product industrial park has not yet been publicly listed for sale, and the investment company has already paid the land acquisition compensation to the Shanzhuang Township Government in advance.

The trees that have been cut down on site

Deputy Township Mayor Feng Meirong said, "This land has not been listed yet, and we are going through the process. All land transfers must go through the open bidding and listing process. All the expenses in the early stage are for the implementation of this project, whether it is for the three connections and one leveling, or for the approval of forestry indicators. Even if the government does not provide any money, it will be borne by your enterprise. However, the enterprise has to bear this risk, which is that you may not be able to pick this land. The enterprise recognizes it and accepts this risk. When signing such an investment agreement, we allow him to operate in this way."

According to local written materials, the project obtained the approval letter for the use of forest land from the Jiangxi Provincial Forestry Bureau on November 27, 2022, and obtained the forest logging permit procedures on February 24, 2023.

The excavator at the construction site of the project is currently digging mountains

The reporter noticed that the unit applying for the use of forest land is Anfu County Wanhe Stone Industry Co., Ltd. Deputy Township Mayor Feng Meirong explained that Wanhe is a subsidiary of Fangtong Stone Industry, and a company can only apply for approval once a year. Last year, other projects of Fangtong applied for forest land, so they can only use subsidiaries to apply.

In response to the issue that the forestry department has already approved administrative permits for investment enterprises to use forest land before the project land is publicly listed for sale, Feng Meirong stated that normal industrial projects would not operate in this way, but because the other party is a resource-based enterprise, it is quite special. "Resource oriented enterprises are generally not allowed to withdraw, as the government will not provide funding. Local indicator enterprises will strive for it themselves."

The North Zone Mineral Products Industrial Park of Anfu County High tech Zone, covering an area of 300 acres, is being implemented by investment enterprises through the implementation of "three connections and one leveling"

Without going through the land public bidding and listing process, the investing enterprise has already paid the land acquisition compensation, actively started the "Three Connections and One Leveling" infrastructure project implemented by the government department, and obtained the administrative license from the forestry department to use the forest land. Why is there a series of unconventional operations? Will there be compensation for farmers who have lost their mountains and forests and their farmland being damaged again? The reporter will continue to monitor.