During 2013 the Rosselkhoznadzor Local Administrations carried out 55274 inspections, including 31915 scheduled inspections and 20347 unscheduled inspections. Inspected area included 38,3 mln ha of agricultural lands and agricultural lands belonging to settlement areas (table).

Amount of issued orders to remove administrative offences increased by 5,4 percent, amount of drown up reports increased by 9,2 percent, amount of passed resolutions of administrative offences increased by 2,4 percent in compare with 2012.

Execution of orders by infringers increased by 13 percent in compare with 2012.

Amount of imposed (145,9 mln rubles – by 31,4 percent more than in 2012) and recovered (110,2 mln rubles – by 25,7 percent more than in 2012) fines greatly increased as a result of increasing amount of persons penalized under administrative law.

2141 supervisory and control activities were carried out involving experts and expert organizations.

9465 materials were left to the judgment of other controlling units.

There were initiated 1422 administrative proceedings based on materials from other controlling units.

Local Administrations placed in mass media 29748 materials in the sphere of state land surveillance (2,3 times higher than in 2012), including 1552 in prints, 599 on TV, 941 on the radio, 12156 on the sites of the Local Administrations, 5033 on the site of Rosselkhoznadzor in “News”.

Court practice

8300 cases of administrative offences in the sphere of state land surveillance were considered in courts according to the results of Local Administrations’ work during 2013, including 7800 (94 %) in the courts of general jurisdiction and 484 (6 %) in arbitrages.

232 decisions (78 %) were issued in the higher courts in favor of Local Administrations, 65 (22 %) in favor of juridical persons and citizens.

There are indicators of Local Administrations’ work in arbitrages: 193 decisions (59 %) were issued in the first instances in favor of Local Administrations, 134 (41 %) in favor of juridical persons and citizens. 95 decisions (60 %) were issued in appeal courts in favor of Local Administrations, 62 (40 %) in favor of juridical persons.

In total, increase in the number of hearings is noted in court practice in the sphere of state land surveillance in compare with 2012 (16,5 %). Also there is an increase in effectiveness of Local Administrations’ work in the courts of general jurisdiction.

Most effective court practice was done in Local Administrations of Bryansk and Smolensk Regions, of Ulyanovsk Region, of Krasnoyarsk Territory, of Moscow City, Moscow and Tula Regions.

Results of the Rosselkhoznadzor’s activity in claiming for damages caused to agricultural lands in 2013

There were detected 2342 violations of the land law with damages caused to soil as an object of environmental protection on 10800 ha. Calculated amount of damage made up to 14,5 billion rubles. 3,2 billion rubles were compensated voluntary on 2700 ha.

Local Administrations of Tver and Pskov Regions (631,1 mln rubles), of Krasnoyarsk Territory (584,4 mln rubles), of Rostov and Volgograd Regions and Republic of Kalmykia (302,8 mln rubles), of Novosibirsk Region (380,5 mln rubles) have highest rates of voluntary compensated damages.

Courts answered to Local Administrations’ claims totaling 3,8 billion rubles. 551,4 mln rubles were actually recovered.

Local Administrations of Kemerovo Region (1,366 billion rubles), of St. Petersburg and Leningrad Region (482,3 mln rubles), of Orel and Kursk Regions (446,5 mln rubles), of Tver and Pskov Regions (242 mln rubles), of Primorye Territory and Sakhalin Region (158 mln rubles), of Novosibirsk Region (130 mln rubles), of Moscow, Moscow and Tula Regions (128 mln rubles) have highest rates of judicially compensated damages.

Resolutions of administrative offences totaling 7,5 billion rubles didn’t come into legal effect. Part of claims for damage compensating is pending in the courts.

Results of the Rosselkhoznadzor’s activity in agricultural lands inspections in order to identify cluttering, dumps and refuse tips

More than 3800 illegal dumps were detected on 5500 ha of agricultural lands by Rosselkhoznadzor’s Local Administrations in 2013. The number of illegal dumps decreased on 6 percent, its area – on 30 percent in compare with 2012.

2100 dumps were formed on 2700 ha by municipal self-governments due to their failure to fulfill responsibilities to organize collection and disposal of household waste and garbage according to Russian Federation Federal Law No. 131-FZ of October 6, 2003 ” General principles of organization of local self-government in the Russian Federation”. 920 dumps on 600 ha were formed by citizens, 40 dumps on 2 ha by horticultural cooperatives, 790 dumps on 2200 ha by other persons. Rosselkhoznadzor’s Local Administrations imposed fines amounting to more than 20 mln rubles and issued 2365 orders by these facts.

Almost 2400 illegal dumps were eliminated due to Rosselkhoznadzor’s activity. About 2500 ha of agricultural lands were put in use.

Information on the use of agricultural lands and agricultural lands belonging to settlement areas by alien residents in 2013

As practice of Rosselkhoznadzor’s activity in the sphere of state land surveillance shows, agricultural plots, that are rented and used by alien residents, especially PRC citizens, are used in barbaric way. Plots are cluttered up by wastages. Fertile soil layer is mixed up with polyethylene film. Applied pesticides are used without state registration in Russian Federation or used contrary to the rules of use. As a result of such use it is required significant investment for rehabilitation and reproduction of soil fertility, agricultural lands drop out of farming industry for a long time or forever.

Such violations of land law are classified as: destruction of fertile soil layer, damage of soil as a result of violations in pesticides and agrochemicals or other dangerous matters applying, making agricultural lands useless for farming industry.

During 2013 officials of Rosselkhoznadzor’s Local Administrations inspected 347 agricultural plots that were rented and used by alien residents on 15400 ha (292 plots on 10300 ha in 2012). There were detected 373 violations on 5500 ha.

Local Administrations sued for soil damage on agricultural lands for 568,7 mln rubles (16,8 mln rubles in 2012).

Unfair alien residents (PRC, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan citizens) were detected in:

– Central Federal District (Moscow Region);

– North-West Federal District (Leningrad Region, Republic of Karelia);

– Southern Federal District (Krasnodar Territory, Astrakhan Region, Volgograd Region);

– Volga Federal District (Saratov Region, Ulyanovsk Region);

– Urals Federal District (Kurgan Region, Chelyabinsk Region);

– Siberian Federal District (Republic of Khakassia, Republic of Buryatia, Altai Territory, Krasnoyarsk Territory, Trans-Baikal Territory, Amur Region, Irkutsk Region, Novosibirsk Region, Omsk Region, Tomsk Region);

– Far Eastern Federal District (Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), Primorye Territory, Khabarovsk Territory, Jewish Autonomous Region).

Rosselkhoznadzor’s activity in order to control over maintaining of soil fertility and detect contaminations in soils of agricultural lands

Any activity may cause decreasing of soil fertility, its degradation and destruction of fertile soil layer of agricultural lands. Therefore control over maintaining of soil fertility and timely detecting dangerous chemical pathogen and ecopathogen contaminations aims at timely detecting and suppression of negative influence of producing activity on agricultural lands.

Rosselkhoznadzor’s Local Administrations together with the subordinate federal state budgetary institutions in 2013 took 31900 samples, including 20000 samples for agrochemical tests and 15300 samples for chemical and toxicological tests.

Decrease of soil fertility was detected on 40000 ha. Area of chemically contaminated soils was 18000 ha.

There were detected 1457 cases of contamination with heavy metal salts, 967 cases of microbiological contamination and 983 cases of excess of the maximum allowable concentration of nitrate nitrogen.

Guilty persons were brought to administrative responsibility in the form of fines and were issued orders to eliminate violations and to carry out reclamations of damaged agricultural lands.

Rosselkhoznadzor’s Local Administrations inform authorities of subjects of the Russian Federation and public prosecutor’s office about all detected chemically contaminated agricultural lands.

Results of the Rosselkhoznadzor’s Local Administrations’ activity in detecting of illegal common mineral quarries on agricultural lands in 2013

399 illegal common mineral quarries on agricultural lands (915,15 ha) were detected by Rosselkhoznadzor’s Local Administrations during control-surveillance activities in 2013.

There were drew up 609 reports of administrative offences, passed 451 resolutions, issued 311 orders to remove administrative offenses. There were imposed fines amounting to 6 mln rubles, payments added up to 4 mln rubles.

The amount of damage caused to agricultural lands was 2,2 bln rubles; 91,1 mln rubles were recovered on voluntary basis and by court.

Obvious case of detecting quarries work is activity of Local Administration of Omsk Region.

Officials of Local Administration of Omsk Region during supervisory and control activities in May 2013 detected agricultural plot with moved off and dislocated fertile soil layer in Kamyshlovskoye rural settlement, Lubinsky municipal district, Omsk Region. As was found during the administrative investigation, the landowner without any title documents excavated a clay quarry for bricks production. There were 4 foundation pits about 3,7 ha with 1,5-3 m depth.

Company and its director were brought to administrative responsibility for detected violations (Part 1 of Art. 8.6 Code of Administrative Offences of The Russian Federation), amount of fine reached 22000 rubles; damage caused to agricultural lands reached 884000 rubles. Local Administration issued an order to carry out reclamation with deadline set for October of 2013. The order wasn’t executed. The second order was issued. Materials were left to the judgment of court.

In 2013 Directorate for land surveillance and communication of Rosselkhoznadzor analyzed laws of subjects of Russian Federation about common mineral quarries on agricultural lands. There is a need for corrective actions in some laws of Russian Federation to regulate moving off and dislocating of fertile soil layer. Therefore Rosselkhoznadzor send an initiative letter in Ministry for Agriculture of Russian Federation.

Results of the Rosselkhoznadzor’s activity in state land surveillance realization relating to state authorities and local self-governments in 2013

Officials of the Rosselkhoznadzor’s Local Administrations carried out 7991 inspections of local self-governments (7986) and state authorities (5) during their exercise of authorities in the sphere of state land surveillance in 2013 (6484 inspections in 2012).

There were detected 3826 violations on 699500 ha. There were drew up 3323 reports, issued 2940 orders to eliminate administrative offences, passed 2442 resolutions of administrative offences. There were imposed fines totaling more than 25,7 mln rubles, payments added up to 17,6 mln rubles (68 percent of imposed).

Illegal dumps were the mostly widespread violations of the land law by municipalities on agricultural lands (52 percent of all violations).

Also Rosselkhoznadzor’s officials pay attention to organization of municipal land control by local self-governments and advise in the sphere of municipal land control.

Rosselkhoznadzor’s Local Administrations organized 933 conferences with state authorities and local self-governments. Municipal land control, state land surveillance and cooperation were the subjects. More than 4000 cases of advisory, guidance and information assistance were given to state authorities and local self-governments in order to improve the quality of legislation.

In spite of guidance work, inspections showed that only 2948 inspected municipalities (40 percent) have approved States and Rules of municipal land control realization. Municipalities detected 1715 violations in 2013, 986 materials were left to the judgment of Rosselkhoznadzor.

According to subpoint “a”, point 3 of List of President of Russia Vladimir Putin’s Orders No. Pr-332 of February 19, 2013, information about inspections of local self-governments, state authorities and about issued orders placed on the sites of the Local Administrations.