Authority stresses farmland protection  

国土资源部：严控建设用地占用优质耕地

国土资源部2日在北京称，为落实最严格的耕地保护制度，中国将强化对优质耕地的严格管控，严控建设用地占用优质耕地。

Beijing (CNS)-- China will exert stricter controls to protect high quality farmland, the Ministry of Land and Resources (MLR) said Thursday.

Rich stretches of farmland will be under permanent protection, and applications to release land for construction projects will undergo rigorous examination before approvals are granted or denied, stressed Yan Gang, vice head of the Department of Farmland Protection at MLR.

Yan added that to implement the strictest farmland protection policy, the country set a "red line" that guarantees its arable land never shrinks to less than 1.8 billion mu (120 million hectares). Meanwhile land management will be improved by intensifying the monitoring of soil and land conditions.