BEIJING - China's top legislature on Monday began deliberating a draft amendment on how to compensate Chinese farmers whose collectively-owned land is expropriated.

The draft amendment, submitted to the bimonthly session of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC) for its first reading, addresses the outstanding problem of excessive land expropriation.

The Land Administration Law, passed by the top legislature in 1986, has been revised twice, in 1988 and 2004, respectively.

According to the current land law, compensation for rural collective land expropriations and relocations should be "no more than 30 times the average annual output of the land for three years before it is taken."

However, the ceiling for compensation is not in accordance with the current economic situation, and many localities have seen compensation standards exceed the current ceiling, the draft says.

The draft law amendment removes the above-mentioned compensation ceiling and proposes that compensation for land expropriation should cover more fields, including rural residences, relocation allowance, social security fees and young crops.

No expropriation can be conducted before the compensation has been paid out, and concrete measures for land expropriation could be made by provincial-level regions under state laws and regulations, the draft adds.

Farmers' protests over land seizures have occurred in villages across the country in recent years, prompting calls for better protection of farmers' property rights.

The bimonthly session of the NPC Standing Committee is being held from December 24 to 28.