Related readings:  Shanghai at centre of land use efforts  China to double land use fees  Soil erosion threats 37% of Chinese land  Beijing uses satellites to monitor land use

The Ministry of Land and Resources is targeting the municipal governments of Beijing and Xiamen, the northern province of Hebei and the southeastern province of Fujian.

"Empowered by the State Council, the inspectors will supervise local land use and administration and advise local governments to correct irregularities," said Gan Zangchun, the country's deputy land inspector-general.

However, the inspectors are not authorized to exert authority over local officials or interfere in their work, according to Gan.

The central government approved the establishment of a national inspection system to strengthen its control of local land use in July. The move came in response to increasing discontent in rural areas over arable land being expropriated by local governments for development.

"The system will make sure the central government's macro-control policies are effectively implemented by local governments," said Cheng Chengbiao, director of the planning office with the Department of Land and Resources of Fujian Province.

In the first 11 months of the year, China saw real estate investment rise 24 percent on the previous year to 1.64 trillion yuan (205 billion US dollars).

The government has issued new laws which will come into effect on January 1, 2007 and regulate land sales, raise land use taxes and compensation for people who have lost their land, and order land administrators to double fees for new construction projects.

However, local governments often help companies to get round the macro-control policies, lending their support to illegal investment projects in pursuit of economic growth.

1

2

(For more biz stories, please visit Industry Updates)