The case of 113 rural families suing their local county government in northwest China's Gansu Province for illegally requisitioning their land and demolishing their property began to be heard in court today.

"It was illegal because the land, covering about 21,300 square meters, was collectively owned by the farmers," one of their lawyers Wang Dong said yesterday.

The farmers are in Longnan City to ask Longnan Intermediate People's Court for 25 million yuan (US$3 million) compensation from Chengxian County government in a suit that was filed on July 26 and also names the local land procurement and relocation office.

The local government's lawyer could not be reached for comment, according to today's China Daily.

Wang said the county government issued a notice in September 2001 saying it would requisition the land in Chengguan Township in order to construct a sewage treatment plant.

The following year, the procurement and relocation office pulled down the farmers' single story houses and constructed residential buildings.

The law requires that land owned collectively by rural residents should be managed by a board elected by them. According to 1996 figures, 46 percent of land falls into this category, and if the government has to use the land for the general public's welfare, it needs to consult and compensate farmers.

Wang said the county government demolished the farmers' houses through coercive means and failed to keep its promise to compensate them.

"These homeless rural workers have had to seek shelter in relatives' houses or elsewhere," Wang said. "Only a few who have special relations with the government have moved into new homes."

He also said some victims had been afraid of accusing the government, especially those who have family members working as county civil servants.

Despite this, some wrote petition letters to government departments and others visited the General Office of the State Council in Beijing, said Wang. "These peaceful farmers are now outraged."

Wang said the developer has yet to obtain proper certification to use the land and that there are other problems in its use.

According to local media reports, the land procurement and relocation office said it had reached agreements with each family and that the suit has exceeded its statutes. Administrative lawsuits need to be filed within two years of the plaintiff becoming aware of the disputed behavior.

But Wang said the local government had persisted in violating the farmers' legal rights and that they have been involved in a continued process of petitioning government departments, making the allegation that the suit has exceeded its statutes ungrounded.

(China Daily August 30, 2005)