2011-01-11 16:35

Chinese land resource watchdog found 24.1 billion yuan ($3.6 billion) land transfer fees were unpaid in 58 cities for the period of 2007-2009, China National Radio reported Monday, citing an official.

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The Ministry of Land and Resources last year inspected 77 cities on their land use and management from 2007 to 2009, covering up to 7 million mu (4.7 square kilometers) of land.

In a random inspection tour of 56 cities for land allocated to government-subsidised housing projects, 11 cities were found to have provided less than 35 percent of their plan, Deputy Chief Inspector Gan Zangchun said at a news conference on Monday.

More than 2,000 projects in 74 cities have left up to 150,000 mu of land idle, and more than 500 projects in 38 cities illegally obtained approval to use their land, Gan said.

The ministry plans to inspect 60 cities and regions in 2011.