Farmers sue city govt, mayor over land compensation

Farmers in three villages in Linxiang, Hunan province, brought a lawsuit against the city government and the mayor, as they are dissatisfied with the compensation given them for their farmland, Beijing Youth Daily reported on Friday.

The trial took place on Thursday morning, during which the farmers said they were told their farmland was needed for a key State highway project, but the city government paid compensation much lower than the standard set by the Hunan provincial government.

Liu Qijun, one of the farmers, said at the trial that the farmers should have received 96,800 yuan ($15,519) per mu (0.07 hectare) for their basic farmland and 61,952 yuan per mu for general farmland, but the city government paid them only 26,730 yuan per mu for the basic farmland and 18,700 yuan for the general farmland.

Under Chinese law, basic farmland refers to cultivated land of high quality that produces a high yield, and may only be seized for other usage with State approval.

After the city government paid compensation to the farmers in March 2013, they started to complain, but got no response from the government. They then filed the lawsuit to protect their rights.

The court heard the case but did not announce a judgment on Thursday.