Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao(L) presents at a teleconference on strict land management of the State Council, chaired by Chinese Vice-Premier Zeng Peiyan(R) in Beijing Oct.28, 2004.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao urged local governments and departments concerned to tighten land management and implement the decision of the State Council on in-depth reform concerning the strict land management Thursday in Beijing.

Wen made the remarks at a teleconference on strict land management of the State Council, chaired by Chinese Vice-Premier Zeng Peiyan.

Since the second half of last year, the central government adopted a series of measures on strict land management aiming to strengthen macro-economic control and protect arable land, Wen said.

The local governments and departments concerned have made achievements in implementing the decision of the central government and curbing misuse of land, he said.

The practice has proved the decision is necessary to protect arable land and safeguard grain security, he said, stressing that the decision is crucial to promotion of a steady and rapid economic development as it has effectively curbed blind investment and duplicated construction.

However, land management should be further tightened since the achievements scored in land management is still at the primary stage and misuse of land has not been eradicated, he said.

"To tighten land management is vital to grain security and sustainable economic and social development," he stressed.

Wen underscored that the government at various levels should spare no effort to protect the existing arable land especially thefarmland from shrinking.

"The government should improve the implementation of the relevant laws, regulations and supervision, and those violated land use laws should be strictly punished," he said.

He stressed effective efforts should be made to protect the farmers' rights for land use and to guarantee that those farmers who lose their land should be compensated.

Meanwhile, intensive land use should be advocated to prevent existing land being left unused, he said.

Wen stressed the governments at various levels should fulfill their obligations of land management, adding "whether arable land is well protected or not is a yardstick to evaluate the performance of local governments and their officials."

According to the Ministry of Land and Resources, China's total cultivated land area dropped to 123.5 million hectares at the end of last year from 130.1 million hectares in 1996.

A large proportion of that arable land was used in some 6,015 development zones and industrial parks. Only 1,251 had been properly approved.

The shrinkage of farmland has affected the economy and food security of the country, experts say.

Also, the abuse of farmland has triggered a number of social problems.

In some places, farmers get no compensation for lost land and therefore protest against local governments. Additionally, blind investment is encouraged by the misuse of land.

Since the second half of last year, the central government has adopted a series of strict land management measures.

An emergency circular released by the State Council in April states local governments should overhaul land use programmes and straighten out any violations over the next six months,especially in areas where construction projects have been approved.

The circular suspended any changes to the use of arable land. It will be replaced by the new resolution next week.

It also stipulates large-scale energy, transport, water resources and urban development-related construction projects can only be carried out with the endorsement of the State Council.