Local communities of Chernihiv region will promote the implementation of landowners’ rights

A seminar “Current Issues of Compliance with Land Legislation” was held in Chernihiv for the heads of territorial communities of the Chernihiv region. The main topic of the event was a discussion of the problems of unregulated land and property relations in the localities, as well as the problem of providing land plots to ATO participants.

Therefore, it was emphasized that it is precisely increasing the level of transparency, accountability and integrity of the work of local councils that is the key to compliance with the rule of law and preventing corruption in the field of land circulation.

Igor Puzan, Head of the Department of Land Management and Land Protection of the Main Department of the State Land Agency in Chernihiv Oblast, directly discussed the legal regulation of land relations at the current stage, the main problems of land use in the region, as well as practical issues of the procedure for changing the boundaries of a land plot, the procedure for granting ownership of land plots and developing technical documentation for ATO participants, conducting an examination, and the procedure for registering ownership of a land plot in the order of inheritance.

“One of the priority tasks of the Main Department of the State Land Agency in Chernihiv Oblast is to satisfy applications from ATO participants for the provision of land plots,” Igor Puzan noted. “It should be noted that land resources authorities transfer ownership of agricultural land plots of state ownership. Management of communal land in settlements is carried out by village, town and city councils, respectively.”

The representative of the State Land Agency advised the heads of territorial communities that if there are boys in their villages who are in the ATO zone but have not yet applied for a land plot, the local council should temporarily reserve land for these people. After all, there are not enough free land plots in their village, so residents of settlements can get them, and boys from the village will not have time to get the desired plot near their place of residence when they return home.

It was also discussed that a person who falls under the free receipt of a land plot can choose a free plot for himself using the cadastral map, which clearly indicates those plots that are free (in gray) and those that are occupied (in blue).

To receive a land plot, it is necessary to submit an application to the relevant body, in which the intended purpose of the land plot and its dimensions must be indicated. The application shall be accompanied by graphic materials indicating the desired location of the land plot.

The relevant executive body or local government body, which transfers land plots of state or municipal ownership into ownership in accordance with the powers specified in Article 122 of the Land Code of Ukraine, shall consider the application within a month and grant permission to develop a land management project for the allocation of the land plot or provide a reasoned refusal to grant it.

The participants of the event concluded that the main task facing government agencies and the public is to increase legal awareness and responsibility of both ordinary citizens and representatives of executive bodies and local government.

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The event was organized by the Chernihiv Public Committee for the Protection of Human Rights within the framework of the project “Enhancing the Capacity of ATO Participants and Protecting the Rights of Peasants-Owners of Land and Property Shares in Khmelnytskyi, Kharkiv and Chernihiv Regions” together with the Chernihiv Center for Retraining and Advanced Training of Employees of State Authorities, Local Self-Government Bodies, State Enterprises, Institutions and Organizations with the support of the International Renaissance Foundation.