Urbanization in China is gaining pace with each passing day. Some officials are using this to twist government policies and change the landscape of rural areas for the worse, says an article in People's Daily. Excerpts:

Some local officials are abusing the urban and rural construction policy by driving farmers out of their houses and forcing them to live in condominiums. The policy says that if arable land increases through reclamation of plots with buildings in one area, land (with buildings) of an equal size in another area can be turned into "urban" land.

But some local officials are twisting this policy to make money. Plots on which farmers build houses are usually big - big enough to build a multi-storied building or set up a factory.

By forcing members of two farming families to shift to a condominium, officials can use one plot to increase the size of arable land in one area and the second as urban land. Once the plot becomes "urban", the officials can transfer its land-use rights in exchange for millions of yuans.

If this process continues, tens of thousands of farmers will lose their land and with it their livelihood. The only sufferers would be the farmers.

Such officials must realize that urbanization is a long-term process; it cannot happen overnight.

If it becomes absolutely necessary to shift rural residents to condominiums, it should be the local government's responsibility to pay them the money realized as land revenue to ensure they can afford to pay for their social security and expenses.

If millions of farmers lose their land, which is their only source of livelihood, how can they survive? And how can we talk about social stability in the countryside?

(China Daily 11/16/2010 page9)