They want to transfer state lands in cities to municipalities: serious changes are expected

For his part, real estate analyst Arnoldas Antanavičius doubts that anything will change significantly just by changing the institution that manages the property.

“I am not sure that the municipalities will do this and begin to represent the public interest more,” he told Delfi.

Consider a task force

One of the points of the Government of Ingrida Šimonytė states: “We will urgently and clearly regulate the development of real estate on rented state land. We will initiate the transfer of the land use policy to the Ministry of the Environment and the functions of the National Land Service to self-government. We will transfer the state lands located in the territories of the city to the municipalities by fiduciary right ”.

According to representatives of the Ministries of Environment and Agriculture, no decisions have been made so far on how these objectives will be implemented. It is planned to form a working group.

“So far, no decision has been made on the transfer process or on the working group. The political intention is to transfer the management of state lands to the municipalities, but neither the terms nor the conditions for it have been defined. the transfer, ”said Agriculture Minister Kęstutis Navickas.

He explained that the plan of measures for the government program should be ready in mid-March, when there should be more clarity.

The minister also assured that the National Land Service will be maintained.

“NJT or its equivalent will continue to be a coordinating and administering institution of land in rural areas, no decision has been made on the subordination of said institution,” said K. Navickas.

Ruslan Golubov, Head of the NJT Public Relations Department, pointed out that they are the institution that implements the land management and administration policy, so they cannot comment on the political provisions of the Government program and the possible or planned decisions of the Department of agriculture.

“However, in our opinion, all decisions regarding the greatest asset of society as a whole, the earth, must be based on a thorough analysis of the possible consequences,” he added.

Aiming for many years

I. Vilūnienė, Public Relations Advisor of the Association of Municipalities of Lithuania, told Delfi that the new government’s proposals are especially important to them.

“They must be implemented as soon as possible. The right to dispose of state lands is one of the essential functions of self-government, this is what the Association of Lithuanian Municipalities and the country’s municipalities have been fighting for many years,” he said.

The interviewee pointed out that this right is one of the most important tools to encourage business investment and promptly address the development of social infrastructure.

“This would guarantee high-quality territorial planning, infrastructure development, implementation of social and economic development, and reduce the administrative burden on residents and businesses.”

In addition, the municipalities would have many more opportunities to implement regional development projects, which would increase employment, entrepreneurship and investment development, ”he said.

I. Vilūnienė also explained that one of the biggest shortcomings today is complicated procedures and lengthy bureaucratic processes.

In addition, some rental requirements no longer correspond to the current situation and reality. For example, the land is rented only for the operation of buildings, which makes it impossible to implement conversion projects.

Another important point is that the approach of the municipality and the NJT to the benefits of the land is fundamentally different: the latter aims to generate a one-time income from the sale or lease of state lands, which is an important public purpose for municipalities: territorial management. important tool for regional development ”, he said.

Mention an old problem

A. Antanavičius said that until the government has presented concrete measures for the implementation of its proposal, it is difficult to evaluate it. He recalled that state leased land in cities has been a problem for a long time.

“In general, it seems to me to be a faulty practice when the state land is practically owned by the taxpayers, the residents of the state, but the developer builds, sells and doesn’t pay or rent, nothing. Only the community of the house is established and is exempt from the property tax. This is a strange practice, obviously, developed many years ago.

In reality, people are losing that state land that is being built and there is no compensation for it. I am in favor of that being rewarded. That money, tens or hundreds of millions, could be added to the budget. But it doesn’t add up, because developers are building projects, selling them, taking the money and moving elsewhere, ”said A. Antanavičius.

The head of the public institution Realdata also pointed out that he does not see a big difference between who owns the land and the municipality.

“Now the NJT decides everything and there are many complaints when someone does not like someone. I do not know if the solution to the problem is a referral to another institution. Still, it is not the institution but the people who work in it who determine whether the processes go well or not.

Nor am I sure that the municipalities will do so and begin to represent the public interest more. Maybe they are more about investments that need to promote construction, attract jobs, etc. In my opinion, the municipalities will represent more the interests of the developers, but I don’t know, maybe I’m wrong ”, considered A. Antanavičius.

In December, the Lithuanian Federation of Agricultural Workers’ Unions came out against the transfer of state land to municipalities, whose president, Audrius Gelžinis, could have various negative consequences and even contradict the Constitution.

“The Constitutional Court has repeatedly declared that it is not possible to establish such legal regulation according to which state property would be administered, used and disposed of in such a way that only the interests or needs of a social group or individual are satisfied and said property does not serve the public interest, the welfare of the nation or the transfer of state property to other entities to satisfy the interests or needs of a single social group or individual, if it is not in the public interest, the public interest does not serve the welfare of the nation “. , – taught in an open letter from the federation to the Prime Minister.

There are 6.53 million in Lithuania. hectares, of which private land amounts to 4.37 million. ha, and state lands – 2.16 million. ha (0.72 million ha are not yet registered in the state cadastre).