Jilin Province Investigates Illegal Cemetery Construction

Authorities are investigating how a construction project in Jilin Province was approved despite occupying basic farmland. The project was intended to cover 1.2375 million square meters with 47,600 square meters of construction focused on rural agriculture and mine gardens. However, a 0 yuan project was filed for the same area in 2019, leading to allegations that the promised development has not materialized after nearly eight years. Fu Wei, the magistrate of Yitong County, admitted that the implementation of an ecological project has been ineffective. The project's progress is reportedly poor and has been linked to several corruption cases. The local government is working to clarify the project's communication and content to avoid confusion caused by continuous construction in the same area. Local authorities in Jilin are investigating allegations of illegal construction on land parcels that were allegedly approved through corruption. Local government officials stated they will move to stop the activities and oversee rectification. The investigation follows admissions that the ecological project's initial rollout was poor. Villagers reported that plots currently used for cemeteries were formerly their private cultivated land. While land use certificates held by villagers label the areas as basic farmland, natural resources department databases show the plots were reclassified as general farmland in 2017. Authorities aim to complete the conversion of most enterprises into columbaria by the end of July.