A regulation has been introduced to ensure data from national land-use surveys are both accurate and authentic, so that macro-control measures are based on firm footings, a senior official said yesterday.

The regulation, which was approved by Premier Wen Jiabao on Feb. 7 and became effective the same day, is designed to ensure the validity of the surveys, which are held every 10 years to provide a record of land use, ownership and condition.

The surveys are funded by central and local governments.

Under the new regulation, governments, administrative bodies and individuals are obliged to work together to ensure the accuracy of survey data. Officials found guilty of falsifying or distorting information face disciplinary punishment, while all others guilty of the same practice face fines of up to 50,000 yuan ($7,000).

Speaking at a press conference, Gao Yanli, director of the cadastral management department under the Ministry of Land and Resources, said: "The regulation is of great significance to us, because inaccurate data could wrongly influence the government's policy-making and therefore damage the national economy."

As the government uses land supply as leverage to curb overheated investment in fixed assets, inaccurate data will reduce the effectiveness of macro-control measures, he said.

Gao said the new regulation will provide support for the ongoing second national land-use survey (2007-09), which is expected to provide a much-changed picture of China's landscape since the first survey was completed in 1996.

"Apart from the cloudy weather in southwestern areas that prevented satellites from getting clear photos, the survey is going smoothly," he said.

Gao said that in the first survey, some officials were found to have provided false information to disguise practices, such as using land to attract investors and boost the local GDP, on which their performance was based.

The ministry said last year that almost a quarter of all new land acquisitions in cities between October 2005 and October 2006 were illegal. The percentage was more than half in some cities, it said.

Last month, more than 2,700 officials were referred for prosecution on land use violation charges, following a 100-day crackdown by local authorities.

Experts have said the illegal use of land poses a huge threat to national food supplies, due to the erosion of arable land.

China's arable land bank has dwindled from more than 130 million hectares in 1999 to less than 122 million hectares last year, the ministry said.

(China Daily February 28, 2008)