4 September 2024
A new
system of land resource management, the digitalization of various processes,
and bringing unused land into circulation are all contributing to economic
growth in Russia’s regions. Throughout, the National Spatial Data
System remains key to improving efficiency with regard to land relations and
facilitating the development of the construction sector. Those were the
conclusions reached at a session entitled Innovations in Land Use: From
Established Practices to Modern Technologies, which took place as part of the
Eastern Economic Forum.
KEY
CONCLUSIONS
Conducting cadastral surveys and bringing unused land into circulation
will help boost regional development
“Reforming
[land – ed.] relations and bringing things into order will provide a
major boost to development... in the regions. In the very near future, we
plan... to greatly increase public satisfaction... with regard to the
simplicity and accessibility... of obtaining land, clarifying land boundaries,
and resolving ownership issues of land plots and real estate. [We also aim to –
ed.] stimulate investment in construction. <...> This is not just
about facilitating and enabling major investment projects... but also
increasing public revenue for regional and local budgets... and obtaining
permanent sources of income for regional budgets,” Sergey Gavrilov, Chairman of
the Committee of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian
Federation on Property, Land and Property Relations.
“A
few years ago, I was watching the news on television, and an American professor
said that Russia is a weak country, that it cannot oppose the West, that Russia
is an ‘economic dwarf’. Hearing this caused me great indignation. <...>
Today, we... can happily note that Russia is confidently becoming an economic giant.
It is a status fitting of the country,” Emil Safarov, Director of the
Department of Land Construction and the Unified State Real Estate Cadastre,
“State Cadastre and Real Estate Register” of the State Service for Property
Issues under the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Azerbaijan.
The
National Spatial Data System is an important tool for developing settlements
and boosting investment in the regions
“Without
the data available in the NSDS [National Spatial Data System – ed.]...
there would be no such capitalization of land plots or decisions on the
direction and manner in which a particular settlement should develop in terms
of housing, infrastructure, industry, calculations, transport provision, and so
on. <...> Today, the fact that land plots can be incorporated and
developed effectively and promptly helps make towns more attractive. It
translates into increased revenues to municipal and regional budgets, expands
the taxable base, and most importantly, qualitatively changes the approach to
investments in a particular region,” Nikita Stasishin, Deputy Minister of
Construction, Housing and Utilities of the Russian Federation.
“We
understand and acknowledge the necessity of developing the National Spatial
Data System as one of the important tools and mechanisms for promoting the
development of the construction sector in general, and housing in particular.
<...> The overarching NSDS programme includes a project entitled Land for
Construction, which we consider to be crucial. <...> In the past 18
months alone... we have attended more than 500 meetings at regional
headquarters... Through working together with the team at Rosreestr and the
regions, we have established an effective channel for identifying land and
subsequently bringing it into circulation. We have already allocated several
thousand hectares for construction in this way, which is crucial for the
development of housing construction, construction as a whole, and urban
renewal,” Anatoly Azizov, Managing Director, DOM.RF.
Rosreestr’s
projects are helping the regions make improvements to property and land
relations
“Since
2023, we have been operating under the NSDS’s digital platform as a pilot
initiative. <...> We have provided information on more than 1.5 million
sites, including those related to forests, urban planning, and protected zones.
The number of rights holders has increased from 70% to 95%... which translated
into... order in relations with rights holders and additional tax revenues for
regional and municipal budgets. The region is also successfully implementing
the Land for Construction and Land for Tourism projects, and 430 hectares have
already been brought into civil circulation. The digitalization of property and
land relations is truly the breakthrough that the regions participating in
Rosreestr’s project have accomplished,” Dmitry Makhonin, Governor of Perm
Territory.
PROBLEMS
Conducting cadastral surveys and bringing land into circulation,
including unused land
“Key
tasks include conducting cadastral surveys... bringing unused and inefficient
land into circulation, allocating land for construction and infrastructure,
incorporating land into urban planning strategies, and monitoring land use.
This is being done right now in 24 regions of Russia,” Sergey Gavrilov, Chairman
of the Committee of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian
Federation on Property, Land and Property Relations.
“We
see potential to integrate the National Spatial Data System and the geographical
information system for auctions to improve the quality and speed of
decision-making by all key participants in the land circulation process.
<...> Together with our colleagues from Rosreestr, we are discussing the
possibility of integrating the National Spatial Data System with the systems
that DOM.RF has built and developed. This primarily concerns our integrated
information system for housing construction,” Anatoly Azizov, Managing
Director, DOM.RF.
“An
absolutely key objective is to move away from imports and switch over to
Russian-made geoinformation technologies. We must also incorporate municipal
and regional services in the NSDS,” Sergey Gavrilov, Chairman of the Committee
of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation on
Property, Land and Property Relations.
SOLUTIONS
Continuing to improve legislation in the field of land relations
“Not
so long ago, we adopted a law... which establishes criteria for the non-use of
land plots within settlement boundaries. This will allow us to solve issues in
a great many settlements where we cannot discern who the owners are. We will
also be able to bring land plots into circulation, and boost construction. <...>
We have adopted a number of laws, which notably concern the synchronization of
land lease terms with investment projects. In addition, we have made decisions
on incorporating plots into circulation which are located within the second
drinking water supply source belt,” Sergey Gavrilov, Chairman of the Committee
of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation on
Property, Land and Property Relations.
“We
would propose introducing a ban on transactions involving land plots whose boundaries
have not been defined. This would prompt rights holders to take action and
understand that everything needs to be registered. <...> Secondly, [we need to] introduce an obligation for the
rights holder to register ownership rights to real estate. That should apply
both to newly created real estate and that registered before 1998 but not
recorded in the Unified State Real Estate Register. <...> One problem
today is the fact that local government bodies pay the original tariff for
notarial transactions when inheriting real estate exhibiting signs of escheated
property. <...> We have sent proposals to the Ministry of Justice of the
Russian Federation and the Federal Notary Chamber to consider exempting local
government bodies from the established regional tariff for notarial
transactions,” Igor Kobzev, Governor of Irkutsk Region.
Promoting
agricultural development with a view to bringing unused land into circulation
“Abandoned
land was a fairly pressing issue for Azerbaijan following the land reform...
However, the state began allocating resources to restore the collector-drainage
system, new irrigation canals were constructed, and several key reservoirs were
built. In 2019, the President issued a decree on the creation of a new subsidy
mechanism in the agricultural sector. Thanks to this, attitudes towards
agricultural land began to change; people started cultivating even abandoned
lands. As a result, there are virtually no abandoned lands in private hands in
the vast majority of regions across the country,” Emil Safarov, Director of the
Department of Land Construction and the Unified State Real Estate Cadastre,
“State Cadastre and Real Estate Register” of the State Service for Property
Issues under the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Azerbaijan.
Streamlining
investment processes through the implementation of a comprehensive territorial
development mechanism
“Comprehensive
territorial development is about streamlining investment processes, the
potential for project-based solutions from municipal and regional authorities,
and [the ability – ed.] to explain to residents how they will benefit if
they participate in the financing process. <...> And this is
transparency. With infill development... problems concerning the construction
of schools and nurseries always end up arising,” Igor Kobzev, Governor of
Irkutsk Region.
*This is a
translation of material that was originally generated in Russian using
artificial intelligence.
For more
information, visit the Roscongress Foundation’s Information and Analytical
System at roscongress.org/en