ONF proposes to expand the “Far Eastern hectare” program to the a national scale

 

On Tuesday, 19 December, participants of the “Action Forum” of the All-Russian People’s Front proposed to roll out the “Far Eastern hectare” program to the whole country. The organization also considers it necessary to provide a mechanism by which plots will be granted without the right to resell, but with the possibility to transfer them by inheritance. Already now, any Russian resident can take up land in the Far East for long-term rent or private property after five years of free use. RT figured out which regions are ready to join the program.

It’s been proposed to expand the “Far Eastern hectare” program to the whole territory of the country. On Tuesday, 19 December, participants of the Action Forum of the ONF, “Russia looking to the future”, made plans for this initiative. The relevant appeal will be sent to the government. It is assumed that each region will independently decide on participation in the program.

In ONF note that it is necessary to provide a mechanism for the creation of settlements consisting of land plots granted to Russian citizens without the right to sell, but with the right to transfer them by inheritance. Thus, people will have the opportunity to create not just housing, but their own “small homeland”.

Expert of the People’s Front, member of a rural settlement of the Irkutsk region, Maria Pelmeneva, notes that the land can be allocated for private construction. Most Russians want to live not in an apartment, but in their own home, she says.

“Our country is significantly behind other countries with similar climatic conditions: in Canada, 79% of the population live in low-rise buildings, in the United States – 92%, in Europe – 80%. In Russia, only about a third of the population lives in such homes. At the same time, according to the results of the VCIOM poll, more than 60% of Russian citizens prefer to live in an individual house and less than 30% in an isolated apartment,” Pelmeneva said.

Visitor at the presentation of original ideas on the development of “Far Eastern hectares”, which was held in the framework of the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok. RIA News

Through the “Far Eastern hectare” program, land can currently be obtained in the Primorsky, Khabarovsk and Kamchatka regions, the Jewish Autonomous Region, the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, the Yakut, Magadan, Amur and Sakhalin regions.

On a designated plot, it is possible to build a house or a warehouse, open a store, or plant a garden.

The plot can be registered as property after five years from the date it was received – provided that the land was used for its intended purpose.

In the process of launching the “Far Eastern hectare” program, a unique land registration mechanism was developed for temporary use. Registration wait times dropped from three years to one month, said Julia Shatin, the head of the media relations department of the Agency for Human Capital Development in the Far East. According to her, the whole country should replicate this mechanism, but not the whole program, which should be implemented only in territories with a low population density.

“The know-how of providing land is, of course, worth widely applying. Through the Internet, literally within a month, each person is able to be issued a site. But strategically, launching the program with colossal state support and welfare, it is worth doing only in such territory as the Far East. This place needs new residents, we need to increase the number of people living here in order to be competitive. This is one third of the territory of our country, but only 6.2 million people live here,” she said.

One of the most sparsely populated regions of the country, the Krasnoyarsk Territory, is ready to join a program similar to the Far Eastern hectare, if it is approved by the state, the head of the Krasnoyarsk region, Sergei Ponomarenko, told RT. He also stressed that not all available land is suitable for development.

“In the north of the Krasnoyarsk Territory, such an initiative would not work. On the other hand, we also have southern regions that are very suitable for agriculture, so it is quite possible that this program would have a good effect there. But nevertheless, in order to give a conclusion about this, we need to make a comprehensive analysis. If the initiative is supported, I think we could get involved in the implementation of this program,” Ponomarenko summed up.

Karelia region is ready to join the program, the deputy chairman of the Committee for Natural Resources and Ecology of the Legislative Assembly, Alexey Orlov, told RT. At the same time, he noted that it is necessary to give out a hectare of land primarily to local residents – to facilitate their employment

“We have many orphan lands. But the land is in demand: many are engaged in farming, growing chickens, pigs. Some try ostriches. Most of all, the southern part of Karelia, which is closer to the Leningrad region, will be in demand. Because there is a suitable climate for growing vegetables and other crops. And on Ladoga you can fish,” Orlov said.

He stressed that when issuing land for any business, one must remember the need to preserve the environment and ecology in the republic.

The example of the Far East is also interesting for densely populated regions. Next year, the Kaliningrad region will begin to introduce a similar experience on its own accord. This was reported by RT, from Governor Anton Alikhanov.

“We are positive about this, we have already studied this issue. There is an experience earlier than in the Far East, for example, in the Novgorod region. We are looking at this experience, and we do have mobile municipalities where this system is planned to start rolling next year,” he said.

The Crimean coast / globallookpress.com / © Serguei Fomine / Russian Look

According to the Ministry for the Development of the Far East, most sites are taken in order to build a house and engage in agriculture. That’s why the Crimea should be included in the program for the distribution of free land, said Sergei Popkov, a resident of the Khabarovsk Territory, who recently registered for the right to a “Far Eastern hectare”. According to him, there are most favorable conditions for this on the peninsula.

“I would have looked more closely at the coast of the Crimea. Everyone wants plots near the water, especially near the sea. Our W here are the same as in the Far East: beautiful nature, normal infrastructure, the possibility of electricity, good conditions for the development of agricultural and tourist business, easy accessibility to transport, human movement. Of course, the demand will be high,” Popkov assured.

Under the law, a “Far Eastern hectare” is granted for free use for five years. Potential sites should be under no obligations to third parties, and be in free circulation. After five years, subject to the development of the land, it can be rented or acquired. From 1 June, 2016, only residents of the Far Eastern Federal District could apply for land, and since February 2017 the land plot has been granted to any resident of Russia.

According to RT data provided by the Ministry for the Development of the Far East, 40% of applicants for the “Far Eastern hectare” plan to build private houses there, about 23% want to develop agriculture, almost 15% horticulture, about 14% recreational projects, and about 9% to start an entrepreneurial activity. As of August 2017, 99,000 applications for a hectare of land have been submitted. Particularly popular are the plots in the Khasansky district of Primorsky Krai.

About 22,000 applications came from residents of remote areas of the Far East. In the top 5 of applicant regions are Moscow and the Moscow region – nearly 3,000 applications have been filed by residents. About 1,000 applications came from St. Petersburg. Also in the top five are the Sverdlovsk Region and the Krasnodar Territory. But still the majority of applicants per hectare are residents of the Far Eastern regions.

To date, Russia is also implementing a program to support start-up farmers, according to which every entrepreneur can apply for participation in the competition, and if the commission chooses him as one of the winners, he will receive a grant for the development of the economy and a one-time assistance for household improvement. Agrarians planning to engage in the cultivation of beef and dairy can receive up to 3 million rubles from the state. Other businesses – up to 1.5 million rubles. In addition, grants for the development of family livestock farms increased this year by 30 million rubles.

 

Original article (in Russian): https://russian.rt.com/russia/article/462120-onf-dalnevostochnyi-gektar-regiony
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