Land legislation is based on the principles of protection and rational use of land, targeted use of land and priority of agricultural land (article 4 of the Land code of the Republic of Kazakhstan).
In turn, in accordance with the requirements of the Land code of the RK, land owners and land users are obliged to use the land in accordance with its intended purpose, the temporary land use – including in accordance with the lease agreement (contract grant temporary land use); to implement measures on land protection envisaged by article 140 of the Land code of RK; avoid contamination, littering, degradation and degradation of soil fertility, as well as removal of the fertile soil layer for the purpose of selling or transferring it to other persons, except in cases where such removal is necessary to prevent irretrievable loss of the fertile layer, etc.
Land owners and land users of the site assume all obligations encumbering the land plot (its intended use, the granting of easements, payment of taxes and other obligatory payments, etc.), unless otherwise provided by the Land code of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
The intended purpose and mode of use of the land plot, easement and other conditions of use established on the basis of normative legal acts cannot be independently changed by the owner of the land plot or the land user.
However, one of the most serious violations of land legislation is the irrational use or non-use of agricultural land.
Gross violations are violations that occurred in connection with non-compliance by land owners or (and) land users with the state's interests in land, with non-use of land in accordance with its intended purpose, and failure to fulfill obligations to bring them into a state suitable for further use, established by normative legal acts in the field of land relations.
In accordance with the Land code of the Republic of Kazakhstan, agricultural land is recognized as land provided for the needs of agriculture or intended for these purposes.
As part of agricultural land, agricultural land and land occupied by on-farm roads, communications, closed reservoirs, reclamation network, buildings and structures necessary for the functioning of agriculture, as well as other land (salt, sand, takyrs and other other land, interspersed with arrays of agricultural land) are allocated.
Agricultural land is subject to special protection. The use of these lands for purposes not related to agricultural production is allowed in exceptional cases (article 90 of the Land code of the Republic of Kazakhstan).
Currently, agricultural land is granted for land use to individuals and legal entities of the Republic of Kazakhstan without foreign participation for farming or farming, agricultural production, afforestation, research, experimental and educational purposes, farming, gardening and livestock.
It should be noted that in accordance with article 338 of the Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan on administrative offenses, irrational use or non-use of agricultural land –
entail a warning or fine for individuals in the amount of ten, for small businesses or non-profit organizations-in the amount of forty, for medium-sized businesses-in the amount of seventy, for large businesses-in the amount of two hundred monthly calculation indices.
In practice, in violation of the requirements of land legislation, land owners and land users do not use land for its intended purpose after receiving land plots intended for farming or agricultural production.
According to the requirements of the law, if a land plot intended for farming or agricultural production is not used for its intended purpose for two consecutive years from the moment of initial identification of the fact of non-use, then such land plot is subject to compulsory withdrawal in accordance with article 94 of the Land code of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
Cases of non-use of the land plot provided for conducting a peasant or farm, agricultural production for its intended purpose include:
1) on arable land-failure to process the land plot for agricultural crops;
2) on hayfields-lack of haymaking on the land plot, the presence of overgrowth of weeds, shrubs, small woodlands and other signs of degradation of the herbage;
3) on pastures-the absence of farm animals for grazing or their presence in the amount of less than twenty percent of the maximum permissible load on the total area of pastures, established by the authorized body in the field of development of the agro-industrial complex, and (or) the absence of haying for the purpose of forage;
4) on perennial plantings – failure to carry out maintenance, harvesting and uprooting of decommissioned perennial plantings.
It should be noted that unused land plots are overgrown with weeds that fly to neighboring used land plots and spread seeds, causing harm to future crops, as unused pastures are empty and not developed, while the neighboring land user does not have enough pasture land for grazing livestock. This situation has negative consequences for the development of agriculture in the region and hinders its development. In addition, agricultural land that is not used for its intended purpose and is not put into agricultural circulation is particularly dangerous during a fire-prone period. One of the main causes of fires is the spread of fire from adjacent territories as a result of burning dry grass and burning dry stubble on agricultural land.
In order to avoid cases of irrational use or non-use of agricultural land, citizens and legal entities of the Republic of Kazakhstan should be aware of the consequences of these illegal actions.
Note: In accordance with the presidential decree of 8 April 2020, №299 "On the revised national budget for 2020" from April 1, 2020 monthly calculation index for the application of penalties in accordance with the legislation of Kazakhstan is tenge 2 778.
Muradym TLEPOV
Lawyer of the Department of Land Relations of the West Kazakhstan region