(VOVworld)- The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment on Thursday held a press conference on collecting public opinions on the revised Land Law. Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Nguyen Manh Hien said that the draft of the revised Land Law consists of 14 chapters and 206 articles, 7 chapters and 60 articles more than the 2003 Land Law. These changes aim to overcome limitations and shortcomings of the current law. “The revised Land Law clearly stipulates the State right and responsibility as the representative of land ownership and unifies the state management of land and land users’ rights and responsibilities. The changes also aim at fine-tuning legal policies on agricultural land toward extending the time of agricultural land use. The revised Land Law has a specific regulation on the use of rice growing land. The amendments will help strengthen land relations toward market mechanism”, said Minister Hien

The revised Land Law collects public opinions through direct and indirect comment contribution, discussions at conferences and via the portals of the government, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, the General Department of Land Management, People’s Councils and People’s Committees. The collection of public opinions will be undertaken from February 1^st to March 31^st, 2013. Based on the public comments, the government will fine-tune the revised Land Law and submit to the 13^th National Assembly at its 5^th session.